The expert spoke about the prospects of gas supplies to the EU via the Turkish Stream

Gas supplies via the Turkish Stream pipeline have been breaking records for the second month in a row, Igbal Guliyev, deputy director of the MGIMO International Institute of Energy Policy and Diplomacy, told Izvestia on March 5. January and February of this year showed a significant increase in transportation volumes, which indicates the increasing role of this route in providing Europe with Russian gas.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that gas supplies to the European Union (EU) countries via the Turkish Stream gas pipeline increased by 26% year-on-year to 1.55 billion cubic meters in February 2025. This follows from the calculation Vedomostibased on data from the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators (ENTSOG).

Guliyev noted that the Turkish Stream, launched in 2020, became the most important link for Russian gas supplies to the European market after the failure Ukraine to extend the transit agreement. The pipeline includes two branches, each with a capacity of 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas per year. The first branch is intended for supply Turkey, while the second one provides gas transportation through the latter to Bulgaria and further to the countries of Southern and Eastern Europe, including Serbia and Hungary.

According to the expert, the increase in supplies via the Turkish Stream is due to several factors. Firstly, the Turkish domestic market is showing record gas consumption. Secondly, the abandonment of the Ukrainian transit route has led to a reorientation of flows to alternative destinations.

"Given the current trends, we can expect monthly supply records to be set this year. By the end of the year, the total volume of gas transportation via the Turkish Stream may reach up to 19 billion cubic meters. m," Guliyev summed up.

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Gazprom announced on January 1, 2025 on the suspension of Russian gas supplies to the EU through Ukraine. 50% of Russian gas exports went to Europe via this route. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico noted that this would have radical consequences for the European Union, but not for Russia.

At the end of August 2024, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that the country will not extend agreement with the Russian Federation on gas transit, which was valid until the end of 2024. The Russian leader Vladimir Putin later pointed out that Moscow does not refuse gas transit through Ukrainian territory.