Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was Thursday to discuss a gas pipeline seen as a rival to a European Union-backed project with his counterparts and close allies from Italy and Turkey.
Putin the day earlier received Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who he counts as a close personal friend, in his home city of St. Petersburg and the pair were due to talk with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone.
The South Stream pipeline, being developed by Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) and Italy's Eni SpA (E), aims to ship Russian gas to Europe by a new route under the Black Sea and into Bulgaria.
On Thursday "we will both have the opportunity to talk [about South Stream] with the Turkish prime minister in a conference call," Putin said in a statement posted on the government Web site.
"Here, there is a clear movement forwards," he said.
Italy is Russia's main partner on the project and Turkey in August agreed to allow Russia to start surveys in its territorial waters in the Black Sea. Building the pipeline in Turkish waters would allow Russia to avoid the waters of its ex-Soviet neighbor Ukraine with whom it currently has prickly ties.
After reaching Bulgaria, the South Stream pipeline is due to split into two, with one branch heading southwards to Greece and southern Italy and the other northwards through the Balkans towards Austria.
By contrast, the E.U.-backed Nabucco project aims to pump gas from the Caspian region directly to Europe by land through Turkey, completely bypassing Russia in a bid to reduce European dependence on Russian gas. Nabucco's backers expect construction to start in 2011, with the pipeline starting operations in 2014.
Turkey, which boasts of its importance as a key strategic player in the region, has now emerged as a major player in both projects.
Italy and Russia are close allies but Berlusconi's visit has raised eyebrows at home with opponents wondering why the trip has been labeled as a "private" visit.