The two gas pipeline projects dubbed South Stream and Turkish Stream should are not "in opposition" to each other, Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak has said.
In an interview with Russia 24 TV station, quoted by Russian news websites, he has made clear his country is ready to carry out projects that are "confirmed by all sides" and involve "guarantees of return on investments made and of demand ofor the respective infrastructure".
"I would not oppose them. We have a single purpose, that through different projects we can deliver [gas] to European customers through different projects."
Since Bulgaria did not issue construction permits for South Stream's offshore section in its territorial waters in 2014, "this project is not being implemented," according to Novak.
His remarks follow an announcement, made during a meeting between the Presidents of Russia and Turkey, that the two countries will go on with the construction of Turkish Stream, after bilateral tensions had brought it to a standstill.
After speaking to Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin made clear the latter project was not seen anymore as an alternative to South Stream (which was abandoned in December 2014).
South Stream, however, could only be carried through if there were iron-clad guarantees it would be realized without any obstacles from Bulgaria or the EU, Putin noted.
