A major section of an oil and gas pipeline connecting Turkey and Russia is now completed. Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Istanbul, to celebrate the development with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. CGTN'S Michal Bardavid reports.

Turkey and Russia marked a milestone on a joint energy cooperation as the offshore section of the TurkStream gas pipeline has been officially completed bypassing Ukraine and connecting the two nations.

MICHAL BARDAVID ISTANBUL "The TurkStream project is made up of two lines; each with the capacity to carry 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The first line is to transit gas to Turkish consumers while the second line is expected to deliver gas to southern and southeastern Europe."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin to Istanbul for a ceremony to mark the completion of this first phase, Russia expects to finish the onshore section by the end of 2019. Both leaders were all smiles on stage, appearing as strong allies.

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN TURKISH PRESIDENT "Turkish-Russian friendship that has been forged after a lot of testing over the years, is yielding beneficial results for both sides. We have never set the framework of bilateral relations according to other countries demands or pressure."

Putin emphasized the significance of the project for the region.

VLADIMIR PUTIN RUSSIAN PRESIDENT "The launch of the Turkish stream will definitely allow our countries to substantially expand our cooperation in the gas sphere. It will have great significance for the economic development of Turkey and the whole Black Sea region."

The TurkStream will reduce Europe's reliance on Ukraine. Putin stressed that this pipeline will guarantee Europe's energy supply.

DR. FILIZ KATMAN ENERGY POLITICS AND MARKETS RESEARCH CENTER DIRECTOR ISTANBUL AYDIN UNIVERSITY "It gives Turkey the possibility of stockpiling gas, which will allow Turkey to sell gas at whatever price it desires, whenever it wants to. So actually Russia is telling western European countries to get their gas from Turkey, telling them to negotiate with Turkey."

The multi-billion project is vital for Turkey which is almost completely reliant on external sources for energy. Erdogan and Putin held bilateral talks following the ceremony. The two have several ongoing projects to discuss including the construction Turkey's first nuclear power plant Akkuyu - being built by Russia. Leaders are also cooperating on regional security issues such as the Syrian conflict and the sale of Russia's S400 missile defense system to Turkey. Michal Bardavid, CGTN, Istanbul.