Russia "Gas Pipeline to Turkey Suspended for One Week from 21st for Technical Inspection"

[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom announced on the 18th (local time) that it will temporarily suspend gas supply through the 'TurkStream' pipeline connecting Russia and Turkey for one week starting from the 21st of this month.

In a press release on the same day, Gazprom stated, "Regular technical inspections of the pipeline will take place from June 21 to 28," adding, "Gas transportation using the two TurkStream pipeline lines will be temporarily suspended during this period." Gazprom also noted that the suspension of gas supply was coordinated in advance with the relevant countries.

TurkStream is a gas pipeline consisting of two lines, 1,100 km in length, connecting southern Russia to the northwest region of Turkey via the Black Sea seabed, and has been operational since January 2020.

One line supplies Turkey, while the other supplies southern and southeastern European countries, with a total transport capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters per year.

Amid the Ukraine crisis, Russia has recently significantly reduced gas supplies to European countries using the 'Nord Stream' pipeline, which connects northwestern Russia and Germany through the Baltic Sea seabed.

Gazprom explained that the operation of the gas compressor station, which includes gas transmission equipment repaired by Germany's Siemens in Canada, is limited because the equipment has not returned due to sanctions against Russia. On the other hand, European countries such as Germany, which import Russian gas, claim that Russia is using gas as a political pressure tool against Europe.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.