(Source: http://www.vestifinance.ru/articles/58376)

On Friday, June 19 Vladimir Putin and the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras discussed the routes of transportation of the Russian gas through the “Turkish Stream” pipeline during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

And the energy ministers of Russia and Greece signed a memorandum on cooperation in the construction and operation of the pipeline on the territory of Greece. A road map for the implementation of this project has also been signed. The beginning of construction of the first thread of the offshore section of the “Turkish Stream” is scheduled for the end of June - beginning of July.

According to the preliminary estimates of “Gazprom”, the first thread of the pipeline will cost 3.3 billion euros. In December 2014 Russia refused to build the gas pipeline “Southern Stream” bypassing Ukraine because of the resistance of the European Commission.

At the same time Moscow and Ankara have agreed on the construction of a gas pipeline on the bottom of the Black Sea during the visit of the President Vladimir Putin to Turkey. In April the Foreign Ministers of Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Hungary and Turkey have confirmed their intention to participate in the construction of the pipeline by a new route. The “Turkish Stream” with the length of about 1,100 km will consist of four threads.

“Gazprom” intends to transport its fuel through this pipeline to the countries of the South-Eastern Europe. It is expected that a gas hub will be created at the Turkish-Greek border, and the EU countries will build their own infrastructure for receiving fuel at their territory.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the EU should applaud Russia for its aid to Greece. It is reported by Associated Press. This statement was made by the President during a meeting with the heads of foreign news agencies in Saint Petersburg. According to Putin, the agreements on the South-European gas pipeline signed with Athens should help to resolve the problem of the Greek debt. “If the EU wants Greece to pay its debts, it should be interested in the growth of the Greek economy which would help the country to pay its debts. The EU should applaud us. What is wrong with creating jobs in Greece?”- Putin noted.