Russian energy giant Gazprom is not planning to take Turkish natural gas companies to the court of arbitration in Stockholm, contrary to some media reports. Russian officials talking to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency at the International Natural Gas Conference in Vienna, said the news that Gazprom was preparing to take Turkish gas companies to the court of arbitration over disagreement on gas prices did not reflect the reality.

The officials, pointing out the fact that relations between Turkey and Russia have recently gained momentum, confirmed the TurkStream gas pipeline project was on the agenda. In light of these positive developments, the chances of going to the court of arbitration were very slim.

The Russian authorities, however, admitted that there were occasional disagreements over natural gas prices with Turkish companies, but the parties, through negotiations, would always manage to reach an agreement eventually. The agreement on the TurkStream gas pipeline project had also become an issue and was not signed last year, after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 jet in November 2015 for violating Turkish airspace along the Syrian border. Under the pretext, disagreement over price had also arisen when Russia expressed its desire to withdraw a previous discount of 10.25 percent, given to the private sector.