Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at his annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 19, 2019. Photo:Xinhua

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to the Turkish city of Istanbul on Wednesday for the opening ceremony of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, the Kremlin announced Tuesday.

During the visit, Putin will also meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss further bilateral cooperation and international affairs, including the situation in Syria and Libya, the Kremlin added.

Consisting of two 930-km pipelines under the Black Sea, the TurkStream project will see Russian gas pumped to Turkey and then to Bulgaria, Serbia and Italy, diversifying the deliveries of Russian energy to Europe.