Report: Energy min sees low risks for E.U. barriers for TurkStream

SOCHI, Feb 15 (PRIME) -- The risk that the European Commission creates barriers for Russia’s TurkStream natural gas pipeline are minimal, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview to RBC television channel broadcast on Thursday.

“From my point of view, these risks are minimal,” he said.

The project is in full compliance with European legislation, while laying of a pipeline on the bottom of the Black Sea to Turkey has no relation to the E.U., he said.

“As to the development of the gas transport infrastructure of the countries of Southeastern Europe – the countries themselves are working on that, the companies are structures of these countries. In general, that implementation is going on in compliance with European legislation,” he said.

The TurkStream pipeline was designed to consist of two branches with a length of over 900 kilometers and a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters each. One of them, to be finished in 2018, is to carry Russian gas to Turkey, while the other is to transit gas to the European countries through Turkey and is to be finished in 2019.

End