TURKEY, RUSSIA TAKE GIANT STEP TO BOOST ENERGY TIES

Turkey and Russia inked a series of deals on Thursday to boost bilateral ties and energy cooperation, deepening the scope of their strategic relationship by adding a new dimension of nuclear cooperation.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the agreement to construct part of the South Stream pipeline through Turkish waters in the Black Sea. With Turkey’s permission, the pipeline would run through Turkish territory to all the way to Europe.

Another concrete energy agreement between Turkey and Russia was the extension of a deal allowing Turkey to purchase Russian natural gas through the Western route.

During their meetings, Russia committed to join the Samsun-Ceyhan project, a crude oil pipeline between the Black Sea city of Samsun and the Mediterranean commercial hub of Ceyhan, both in Turkey. The pipeline would carry Russian oil and provide an alternative route to the congested Bosphorus Strait.

The agreements signed between the two countries are as follows:
• Use of nuclear energy for peaceful means.
• Early notification of nuclear accidents and exchange of information on nuclear plants.
• Cooperation on scientific research on exploration of outer space and its use for peaceful means.
• Standardization
• Cultural exchange and cooperation on sports and science
• Cooperation on food safety of imported and exported sea products
• Customs protocol
• Exchange of information between capital market institutions
• Protocol of joint economic commission
• Protocol of nuclear power engineering
• Protocols of cooperation on natural gas and oil