Artur Zurabyan assessed the new agreement on Turkish Stream and further cooperation between Turkey and Russia

Gazprom admitted that the Turkish Stream pipeline may remain on paper. The draft prospectus for a new issue of eurobonds for the company states that, although the Turkish Stream project has resumed and the parties involved are negotiating various aspects of the project, there can be no assurance that this or any other major project will be completed. It claims that the suspension or cancellation of the project or any substantial revision of its parameters could adversely affect the financial condition of the companies. Vedomosti studied the text and reported that an individual close to Gazprom revealed that international lawyers and an external consultant on the issue wrote the agreement, and they always tend to be cautious. The informant also maintained that they have no fears concerning this project. A representative of Gazprom declined to comment on the matter.

Artur Zurabyan, the head of the international litigation and arbitration practice at ART DE LEX, thinks that the intergovernmental agreement serves as a political groundwork for further cooperation between Gazprom and the Turkish operator of the Botas project. He noted that the companies will have to sign an actual contract with each other. Zurabyan thinks that, at this stage, the parties theoretically could painlessly cease their involvement in the project.