Russia sees Bulgarian, Serbian TurkStream sections completed in 2020 - Putin

"At the end of next year, we will finish the work together with our Bulgarian and Serbian partners," Putin said at a news conference following a meeting with Hungarian president Viktor Orban in Budapest on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Russian President's Office.

Russia may start the construction of the pipeline's extension on Hungarian territory as early as the beginning of 2020, Putin said.

Earlier this month, a consortium of Saudi-based Arkad Engineering and Construction Company and its Italy-based joint venture company Arkad ABB started construction works on the Bulgarian section of the pipeline that will stretch from the border with Turkey to the border with Serbia. In Serbia, the construction works started in April.

The offshore section of the TurkStream pipeline stretching 930 km across the Black Sea from Russia to Turkey consists of two parallel strings with annual throughput capacity of 15.75 billion cubic metres of gas each. One string is intended for consumers in Turkey, while the second will carry gas to customers in Europe through Bulgaria and Serbia.