“Turkish Vicious Dream” of Putin

The intervention in the Syrian war is already bringing dramatic consequences for the Kremlin. In particular, Russia may have to say goodbye to its ambitious pipeline projects in the region, including the Turkish Stream. This is the opinion of Roman Nitsovych, an expert at the DiXi Group Think Tank. 

“Russian propaganda is already unable to cover its failure in the Turkish direction, especially after the violation of the Turkish airspace by military airplanes of the Russian Federation, with one of them being even shot down.

Turkish President Erdogan sounded perfectly clear: the Russians may lose the contracts for the AkkuyuNPP construction project and face reconsideration of the gas import contracts. This is not a mere threat. Whereas earlier agreements were based on some trust, now it is ruined.

Gazprom has already reduced the degree of its ambitious statements regarding the Turkish Stream, denying any influence of political factors on the project. At the same time, official media announced the construction of only one pipeline branch and postponement of the launch to an indefinite date.

In plain language this means phasing out the project until “better times” that may never come. The same happened to the predecessor of the Turkish Stream, the South Stream, but this time, powerful political factors added to economic considerations. If Turkey introduces sanctions, Putin would have to think twice – and this time not about “streams” but about his vicious dreams.”

Roman Nitsovych
Research Director