ST. PETERSBURG, Russia—Greece and Russia signed a preliminary agreement Friday for cooperation on a pipeline that will bring Russian gas to Europe through Greece and Turkey.
The agreement, which isn't legally binding, was signed by the Greek and Russian Energy Ministers, respectively Panagiotis Lafazanis and Alexander Novak, on the sidelines of an economic forum.
It comes amid last-ditch efforts to prevent further economic collapse in Greece and the country's possible exit from the eurozone as Athens and its international creditors are yet to agree on the terms of a new financial bailout before Greece has to make multibillion-dollar debt repayments later this month.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is scheduled to meet with the Russian President Vladimir Putin later Friday. After a meeting between the two leaders last month, Mr. Putin, said that Russia was ready to consider financial help to Greece in exchange for Greece's agreement to sign up for the pipeline project.
Greek and Russian officials said earlier this week that Greece hasn't requested financial aid from Russia.
"The project we start today isn't against Europe" Mr. Lafazanis said. "We are sending a message of stability in Europe without divisions."
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Russia and Greece would create a 50-50 joint venture to carry out the project. He said that new company will own the pipeline.
The Russian half would be owned by VEB Capital, a unit of the Russian state development bank Vnesheknonombank. The Greek half would be owned by a new state energy-investment company that Greece has agreed to create, named DEPENE.
According to the agreement on the so-called 'Turk Stream' gas pipeline the project will begin in 2016 and end in late 2019 and will have a volume of 47 billion cubic meters of gas.
"In general, the memorandum is only the start of the realization of the project," Mr. Novak said. "It will be worked on."