ISTANBUL (AP) The presidents of Turkey and Russia inaugurated the dual natural gas line connecting their countries today, opening up a new export path for Russian gas into Turkey and Europe and promising cooperation in trade and diplomacy.
The meeting in Istanbul between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russias Vladimir Putin came amid deteriorating security in the Mideast, with U.S.-Iranian tensions high since the American killing of a top Iranian commander last week. Erdogan, with Russian support, vowed to work for de-escalation.
With TurkStream, Russian gas passes through the Black Sea to Turkey. Together, the two 578-mile lines under the Black Sea, along with the Russian and Turkish onshore pipes, have the capacity to carry 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas annually.
Russia is the top gas supplier to Turkey, which relies on imports for its energy needs.
TurkStream allows Russia to bypass Ukraine by opening up a new direct transport line to Turkey, in addition to the Blue Stream line also under the Black Sea further east. The simmering conflict between Moscow and Kyiv has prompted Russia to seek alternative gas routes to Europe.
From Turkey, Russian gas will reach southern and southeastern Europe through new and existing lines. Turkstream has already begun transporting gas but the two leaders turned a symbolic valve in the ceremony.
Erdogan said the historic project was a key example of Turkey and Russias win-win cooperation and a basis for future projects.
The opening of the TurkStream pipeline comes amid tensions over another ambitious Russian project, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is supposed to allow Russia to transport natural gas directly to Europe, again bypassing Ukraine. Late last year, construction of Nord Stream from Russia to Germany was halted after U.S. President Donald Trump signed off on sanctions against individuals and companies involved with it. Immediately after that, a Swiss company laying the pipeline suspended work on it.
Turkey is also part of a race to explore oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, where it fears being excluded from resources around the ethnically split island of Cyprus. A maritime deal it signed with the Tripoli-government in Libya heightened tensions in the region over exploratory and drilling rights.
In the ceremony Wednesday, Erdogan also vowed to work diplomatically to calm soaring tensions between Washington and Tehran.
No one has the right to throw the region, especially Iraq, into a new ring of fire for their personal gains, he said.
Iran targeted with missiles Iraqi bases where American troops are stationed in retaliation for Fridays American drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The escalation risks open conflict between the two rivals and violence through their proxies in the region.
We will be in constant dialogue and consultation with the Russian Federation and my dear friend Mr. Putin. God willing, with help of our Russian friends support and contributions, I believe we will overcome this troubled phase, Erdogan said.
Erdogan and Putin talk and meet often, cooperating on trade, energy and defense industries. Their close partnership is a dramatic reversal from 2015, when diplomatic relations hit rock bottom with Turkeys downing of a Russian fighter jet along the border with Syria. Their increased cooperation has worried Turkeys NATO allies, especially with Moscows delivery of a Russian-made missile defense system to a base near Ankara over the summer.
In a closed-door meeting ahead of the ceremony, the two leaders were also expected to discuss Syria and Libya.
