On Wednesday 8 January, the Presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Istanbul and inaugurated the TurkStream gas pipeline.
While the Turkish President described the event as “historic for Turkish-Russian relations and the regional energy map”, Mr Putin stressed the strengthening of the “partnership between Russia and Turkey in all areas”.
Stretching over 930 kilometres, the TurkStream crosses the Black Sea to connect the Russian coast (near the town of Anapa) to Turkey (on the outskirts of Kiyikoy).
It consists of two sections; one of which is for Turkish consumers, while the second will transport gas to southern and south-eastern Europe, through Turkish territory.
Capable of transporting 31.5 billion cubic metres of gas per year (15.75 billion cubic metres per section), this gas project allows Russia to bypass the Ukraine, with which the country has been in conflict with since the annexation of the Crimea in 2014.
While Russia is already Europe's main supplier of gas, covering more than 40% of European countries' gas consumption, there are fears that TurkStream will increase Europe's energy dependence on Moscow.
The two Heads of State also made use of this event to discuss Syria and Libya, as well as tensions in Iraq and Iran (see other news). (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)