INTERVIEW: Russian ambassador: Turkish Stream, Akkuyu depend on Turkey’s will

ANKARA, Feb 9 (PRIME) -- Russia has not cancelled the projects of the Turkish Stream pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant construction but the crisis in relations with Turkey makes the fate of these projects hard to predict, ambassador Andrei Karlov told PRIME in an interview Tuesday.

“Russia does not reject Turkish Stream but it is mainly the Turkish side who calls the shots,” Karlov said.

He said that Turkey has been unready to start negotiations to sign an intergovernmental agreement encompassing the main terms of the pipeline building and use so far.

Initially, the Turkish Stream project foresaw construction of four lines with a total capacity of 63 billion cubic meters, but later media reported that the countries are likely to agree on construction of only the first line. The negotiations stalled altogether after downing of a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 plane by Turkish military forces in November.

“The (Akkuyu) project has not been cancelled by us but the future of its fulfillment now largely depends on the Turkish side,” Karlov said.

Russia and Turkey signed an agreement on construction of the U.S. $20 billion plant in 2010. The project includes construction of four 1,200- megawatt VVER reactors.

Karlov said that the Russia–Turkey relations will stall unless Ankara changes its position on the Su-24 crash. Russia is waiting for official apologies for the incident, punishment of all people implicated in it and compensation of the loss.

The scope of cooperation between Russia and Turkey aimed at defeating the Islamic State (terrorist organization prohibited by Russian law) has been not enough, and Turkey is the main gate of foreign fighters’ arrival to the battlefield, he said. “We often knew from media alone that a group of foreigners was detained, Russians among them.”

The official attributed the relations crisis to unwillingness to negotiate issues by a certain part of Turkish authorities: “We have never said that Turkey is a hostile country for us. Moreover, the Russian president stressed that the Turkish nation is friendly people for us. Only part of the current Turkish authorities with whom it is impossible to negotiate is a problem. Unfortunately, because of this we have relations at a much lower level, the trade will decline sharply.”

Karlov said that Turkish exports to Russia fell by about 67% but the figures include only exports of goods. Tourism, construction and transportation services decreased sharply as well but the losses are hard to define.

Moscow needs no intermediaries to normalize relations with Ankara, he said. “If Turkey wants to make real steps for normalization of the relations, it has all the opportunities.”

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