Vladimir Putin proposed on Thursday to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to create a “gas hub” in Turkey to export gas to Europe, at a time when Russian deliveries to the EU are affected by sanctions and leaks from the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
“We could examine the possibility of creating a gas hub on Turkish territory for deliveries to other countries,” especially to Europe, said Putin during a meeting with Erdogan on the sidelines of a regional forum in Kazakhstan.
He praised Turkey, which has proven to be “currently the most secure route for deliveries” of Russian gas.
A possible gas hub in Turkey could also serve “to define the prices” of these hydrocarbons, “today exorbitant”, according to Putin.
“We could regulate prices without any politics getting involved,” he stressed.
The possibility of Turkish mediation in the conflict in Ukraine was not mentioned at the beginning of this meeting.
The Kremlin had indicated on Wednesday that it expected a concrete proposal from the Turkish president on this proposal.
Mr. Putin’s initiative on a gas hub in Turkey comes at a time when Russian gas deliveries to Europe are being severely affected by Western sanctions imposed on Russia, with the EU considering a cap on gas prices in the face of rising energy bills caused by the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
In addition, four huge gas leaks appeared at the end of September on the two gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany, caused, according to several countries, by underwater detonations.
