Gazprom’s Turkish Stream gas pipeline project could become a strong incentive for Turkey and Greece to improve their bilateral relations, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

The route of the Russian gas pipeline Turkish Stream from Turkey’s territory to Greece could rather be called Greek Stream, Russia’s ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said at a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday, according to TASS.

Gazprom announced in December 2014 it was abandoning its South Stream pipeline project over competition objections by the European Commission and would build Turkish Stream instead.

The South Stream pipeline was designed to carry natural gas from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then further west to central Europe, bypassing Ukraine. Turkish Stream is expected to use about two-thirds of the South Stream underwater section and then come ashore in Turkey. From there the pipeline would stretch to Turkey’s border with Greece where a distribution hub is to be built to carry gas to Greece and other EU member states.

Greece said last month it hopes to sign an agreement with Russia on the construction of a pipeline extension on its territory connecting Turkish Stream to Central Europe very soon.

Relations between Athens and Ankara have been strained for decades due to the division of Cyprus and the ongoing dispute over the sovereignty of the Aegean Sea area lying between Turkey and Greece.

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