By Murat Temizer
ANKARA
The Trans Anatolia Natural Gas Pipeline, TANAP is Turkey's priority rather than Russia's last project proposal, according to Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Cavusoglu spoke on Putin's announcement of the suspension of the South Stream natural gas project and his proposal for an alternative route through Turkey to send natural gas to Greece and to European countries.
"We signed a memorandum of understanding with Russia but it doesn’t mean that TANAP stays in the background," Cavusoglu said at a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Elmar Mammadyarov and Georgia’s Tamar Beruchasvili on Wednesday.
The foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia met Wednesday in Turkey's northeastern province of Kars to discuss energy and transportation projects.
"Russia's offer is the main issue and we have talked about it with my Georgian and Azerbaijani colleagues today (Wednesday)," he said.
"We know the importance of TANAP for Georgia and for Europe. We already ordered the natural gas pipes. The project won’t be affected by falling oil prices and will be completed. We emphasize the importance of TANAP everywhere," he added.
Additionally, Beruchasvili said that Georgia is happy to hear of the importance of TANAP from Turkish officials.
"TANAP is really important for the region’s development. It is not just important for the region but also globally. We are working together for common benefits," Beruchasvili stated.
Mammadyarov also showed his support for the TANAP project and is awaiting Turkey's decision.
"We came to an understanding about the TANAP and already made an agreement on the pipes of project," Mammadyarov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the suspension of the original South Stream natural gas project through Bulgarian soil and declared the redirection through Turkey during his meeting in Ankara, on Dec. 3, 2014.
Following Putin’s announcement, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom decided to build a 63 billion cubic meter capacity natural gas pipeline to Turkey, bypassing Ukraine, said the company's CEO.
Georgia is an important energy partner for both Turkey and Azerbaijan. One of the main issues at the meeting was the TANAP, Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline which is planned to originate from the Georgia-Turkey border, move through Anatolia and extend 2,000 kilometers to reach Greece. It will then connect to the Southern Gas Corridor which will carry natural gas from the Caspian Sea near Azerbaijan to Italy into Europe.
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