MOSCOW (Sputnik), Anna Liatsou — A memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the construction of the Greek stretch of a new pipeline to deliver Russian gas to Europe is expected to be signed in the next few days, the Greek energy minister told Sputnik.
"A specific memorandum on cooperation in the construction of the pipeline is expected to be signed very quickly. It will be a memorandum of understanding on the pipeline, its route, between Greece and Russia," Greek Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said.
"This pipeline is extremely important for energy security and cooperation in Europe," the minister stressed.
In December 2014, Russian energy giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller announced the construction of a new Turkish Stream pipeline to Turkey with an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters (2224 billion cubic feet) of gas. Around 14 billion cubic meters of gas will be supplied to Turkey, with the rest being pumped to a hub on the Turkish-Greece border for customers in Europe.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Turkish Stream gas pipeline could help Greece become one of the main energy distribution centers in Europe. In turn, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Athens was interested in attracting investment in construction of the pipeline on its territory to handle gas coming through the Turkish Stream.
