"If there are such proposals, I think that this route would be very interesting and important for consumers in Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, in this case, there are prospects for the project to be implemented, " Novak told Lifenews television.
The Turkish Stream gas pipeline, with an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters, was announced in December 2014. The pipeline was expected to run below the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and continue to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where gas could be transferred to Southern Europe.
Moreover, according to Novak, Russia is prepared to guarantee further gas supplies to Turkey.
"Russia has gas, this gas is reasonably cheap in Russia, we have the necessary infrastructure, and we can guarantee supplying gas and expanding the volume supplied. Therefore I think that our economic and commercial cooperation must continue and it will be efficient for both sides," Novak said in an interview with Rossiya-24 television.
Russian-Turkish relations deteriorated following the downing of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16 fighter in Syria on November 24. Following the incident, Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey. Russia also suspended a number of strategic bilateral projects, in particular, negotiations on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project.
On December 17, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would need a written guarantee from the European Commission on its support of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline to continue its construction.
