All smiles: Nursultan Nazarbayev
Kazakhstan eyes Samsun-Ceyhan role
Kazakhstan is ready to take part in the Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline together with Russia, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev told the Turkish parliament during an official visit today.
Eaarlier today, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan that Kazakhstan may supply oil for the pipeline which links Turkey's Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts.
"Our Kazakh colleagues expressed their readiness for joint work to fill this oil pipeline system," Putin told Erdogan during a conversation held via video link.
Putin's spokesman later told Reuters that he was referring to the Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline.
The Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline will link Turkey's Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts for to transport oil to western markets and reduce traffic on the congested Turkish straits.