Russian and Italian leaders turned their focus to Turkey Thursday in efforts to push forward a plan to build a gas pipeline to Europe through Turkish waters, according to dpa. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was in Ankara to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on a variety of topics, including the South Stream pipeline. The pipeline is a Russian-Italian project that would bring Russian gas to Europe via the Black Sea. It is seen as a rival to the Nabucco pipeline, which some European leaders favour since that project does not rely on Russian gas. Many European leaders worry that they are too dependent on Russia, which provides the bulk of gas for European consumption. Additionally, payment disputes between Russia and Ukraine, through which much of Russian gas destined for Europe flows, have blocked gas shipments to Europe in the past, making some question Russian reliability. Bypassing Ukraine with the South Stream pipeline should resolve that problem, argue Russian officials. Nonetheless, some European leaders would like an alternate and wonder what to make of Italy's support for South Stream. Given Italian interest in the project, Italian President Silvio Berlusconi is also expected in Ankara today as a special guest to the talks, in which deals on laying the pipeline are expected to be signed. Citing a draft bilateral protocol, a Russian official said Wednesday that Turkey is expected to give approval for the pipeline to cross its portion of the Black Sea. "The parties will ensure the conditions for approval of the construction," said Yury Ushakov, a deputy government chief of staff, cited by the RIA Novosti news agency. Putin and Erdogan are also expected to discuss Russian bids to build nuclear power plants for Turkey. The 15.5-billion-euro (22.3- billion-dollar) project would represent Turkey's first nuclear power plants.
