MOSCOW (AP) — Turkey's economy minister says the country is ready to resume work on building a gas pipeline from Russia, a project that was suspended amid tensions between the two countries.

The project, called Turkish Stream, would bring gas from Russia to Turkey, from where it could be distributed to European Union countries. It was proposed by President Vladimir Putin in 2014 after a pipeline project to Bulgaria was ended amid EU countries' opposition.

Turkey suspended the Turkish Stream as relations with Russia deteriorated following Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane. Relations warmed after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized in June.

After meeting Russia's energy minister on Tuesday, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybecki said: "We are open for construction of the first line of Turkish Stream," state news agency Tass reported.