Turkey's plans might bring problems to Gazprom

Turkey may destabilize the European gas market by constructing a gas pipeline to Greece and exporting its excess gas to Europe, the United Financial Group said in its report.

New gas supplies to the European market can bring problems to Gazprom both in the short-term and in the long-term perspective, analysts say. The construction of an export gas pipeline to Europe will enable Turkey to become a "gas bridge" between Asia and Europe, by supplying gas from the Central Asia and the Caspian Sea. An increase in gas supplies on this route will undermine Gazprom's influence on the export policies of Russia's neighbors in Central Asia.

As reported earlier, gas supplies through the gas pipeline Blue Stream from Russia to Turkey have been suspended due to discrepancies between the Turkish government and Gazprom over gas prices. Viktor Kalyuzhny, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minster who is in charge of the problem of the Caspian Sea status, has declared recently that Turkey's demand for gas was overestimated at the initial stage of the Blue Stream project.

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