Erdogan hopes to extend Turkish Stream through Bosnia

Ankara, May 7 - Neftegaz.RU. Turkey and Bosnia have signed a revised free-trade agreement, a deal on the Sarajevo-Belgrade Highway Project and made plans to extend the TurkStream pipeline through the former Yugoslav republic.

The agreement would help bilateral trade reach $1 billion, Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan told an Ankara press conference with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s presidential council members.

“We will provide all kinds of support to TurkStream gas pipeline project to go through Bosnia and Herzegovina,” the president said alongside Milorad Dodik, who currently heads the tripartite presidency governing Bosnia.

Erdogan purportedly said Sarajevo’s participation in the project would bring economic development and encourage stability and unity.

The TurkStream is due to carry Russian gas under the Black Sea, bypassing Ukraine. One pipeline will serve the Turkish market while the other will head onward through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary.

On TurkStream, Dodik said it was important for Bosnia to be a part of the pipeline which linked Turkey to Western Europe. TurkStream is due to come online for the Turkish market by the end of the year.