Turkey's Erdogan, Putin lay key piece of TurkStream

By Faruk Zorlu, Fatih Hafiz Mehmet, and Sena Guler

ANKARA (AA) - With the Turkish and Russian presidents doing the honors, on Friday the last offshore section of a landmark natural gas pipeline was put into place.

"The TurkStream natural gas pipeline project will be ready to operate in 2019 after tests are carried out," Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, said at a ceremony in Istanbul marking the completion of TurkStream’s offshore section.

Since 1987 Turkey has purchased 387 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from Russia, said Erdogan, adding that the project shows both countries' successes in the field of energy.

Turkey's goal is to reach an annual trade volume of $100 billion with Russia, added Erdogan.

Hailing relations between the two countries, Erdogan called Russia a “reliable” partner for Turkey and “important” natural gas provider that Turkey can cooperate with in the long run.

Turkey's solidarity with the Russian leadership and people pave the way for bigger projects for both sides, he added.

The TurkStream project has many advantages not only for Turkey, but also for its region and neighboring countries, he said.

TurkStream is an export gas pipeline set to cross beneath the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey and also further extend to Turkey's borders with neighboring countries.

TurkStream's first line is set to carry 15.75 bcm of natural gas to Turkey. With a second line that goes to Europe, the project will have a capacity of 31.5 bcm per year.