An explosion has occurred at a section of the Baku -Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline in the Sarikamis region of Turkey"s north-eastern province of Kars.
A nearby forest was successfully protected from the blaze. According to eyewitnesses, the explosion was heard as far as 20 km away.
Turkish authorities have called the incident a terrorist attack. The country"s energy minister, issued a written statement and blamed Kurdish separatists.
Accorfing to Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Energy Mariam Valishvili, the explosion at the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline will not influence Georgia’s gas supply.
“The explosion occurred in Kars, Turkey and has no influence on our pipeline. Apart from this, the pipeline was inactive to begin with due to ongoing repairs. Therefore, this represents no threat to us,”- Valishvili remarked.