Turkey is ready to “make a decision” on the proposed Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.
The pipeline is scheduled to run from southern Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea and possibly on to European Union member Greece.
Erdogan said before his meeting with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in St Petersburg that Turkey had already purchased most of its gas from Russia.
The meeting will be the first between the leaders since a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border in late 2015.
The incident severely frayed Russia and Turkey’s previously robust relations.
However, in June, Erdogan had issued an apology and expressed a strong intention to rebuild ties with Russia.
Erdogan said that Turkey welcomes Russian tourists and is able to ensure their safety.
“At the moment, there are no problems in Turkey, especially in the tourist areas,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.
Russia imposed sanctions preventing its citizens from travelling to Turkey after the plane was shot down but has lifted such sanctions.
Russians are still wary of travelling to Turkey, however, in the aftermath of an attempted coup against Erdogan in July.
About 60 per cent of Russians are following the news of events in Turkey, according to a survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre, a state pollster.
About a fourth of the survey’s respondents, 24 per cent, said they distrust Turkey’s leadership, and more than one in 10 respondents, 12 per cent, think Erdogan actually faked the coup.
Turkish authorities have detained tens of thousands of people in connection with the attempted coup.
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