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 emphasise the importance of TANAP everywhere," he added.
Adapted from press release by Elizabeth Corner