The Russian government is drafting an intergovernmental agreement with Turkey to lock in their planned Turkish Stream gas pipeline deal.
Gazprom chief executive Aleksei Miller told reporters on October 7 that he is working on the agreement and doesn't expect Turkish pique over Russian incursions into its airspace this week to deter it.
Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak told reporters in Istanbul over the weekend that the deal will be signed after Turkey's election on November 1, most likely early next year.
The huge Turkish Stream pipeline would run from Russia to Turkey beneath the Black Sea and then continue to a hub on the Turkish-Greek border, from where it could be extended to southern Europe if the Greek government allows.
The pipeline was conjured up in Moscow following its failure to get the so-called South Stream up and running with European partners after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow for its annexation of Crimea and aggressions in eastern Ukraine.