ISTANBUL (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the World Energy Congress (WEC) in Istanbul on Monday he had discussed the development of the Turkish Stream pipeline project with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier in the day, Putin arrived in the largest Turkish city to participate in the 23rd WEC and to meet foreign leaders, including Erdogan and Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
"In preparation for today's visit, we spoke at length with Turkish partners, with President Erdogan, and we intend to implement the Turkish Stream," Putin said.
The Turkish Stream project was announced at the end of 2014 by Putin on his state visit to Turkey. The pipeline is expected to run below the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and continue to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where the gas could be transferred to Southern Europe.
In late September, Russia's energy giant Gazprom said it had received a majority of permits from Ankara on the construction of the pipeline.
