Putin heads to Ankara on energy talks

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Ankara hosts Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for talks on bilateral energy cooperation as Turkey grows as a diverse host for oil and gas networks.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the primary issue on the agenda for the Thursday meeting with the Russian premier is energy.

Turkey hosts several major resource arteries in the region, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the second longest in the world. Europe, for its part, eyes Turkey as a host for its planned Nabucco gas pipeline, which may diversify a market dependent on Russian gas.

Russia, however, is the top gas supplier for Turkey. Erdogan said that despite the need for regional energy diversity, Russia still has a role to play in several projects, including Nabucco, Middle East Online reports.

Russia, meanwhile, is pushing for its own resource links in its Nord Stream pipeline to Germany and South Stream pipeline to southeast Europe. Moscow needs Turkish support for South Stream, as the gas network would pass through Turkish territorial waters.

Both countries are linked currently through the Blue Stream gas pipeline through the Black Sea. Moscow and Ankara in 2005 proposed a second leg for that gas pipeline, which can supply markets in the Middle East.

Trade volume between Russia and Turkey amounted to $37.8 billion in 2008. Turkey also receives about 60 percent of its natural gas from Russia, making the economic ties between the two countries vital.