Ankara, 18 June 1997 (RFE/RL) - Turkey and Ukraine are due to sign a deal later today to build a pipeline from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea through Turkey.
An official for the Turkish state pipeline company Botas said the pipeline will bypass the busy Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and carry crude oil for Ukraine and other Black Sea countries from world markets. The agreement will be signed by Turkish Energy Minister Recai Kutan and Ukraine's Anatoly Minchenko, state minister for industry policy and energy.
Nearly 50,000 vessels a year transport oil and other goods through Turkey's two straits mainly for Russia, Balkan countries and other Black Sea ports.
An official for the Turkish state pipeline company Botas said the pipeline will bypass the busy Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and carry crude oil for Ukraine and other Black Sea countries from world markets. The agreement will be signed by Turkish Energy Minister Recai Kutan and Ukraine's Anatoly Minchenko, state minister for industry policy and energy.
Nearly 50,000 vessels a year transport oil and other goods through Turkey's two straits mainly for Russia, Balkan countries and other Black Sea ports.