Joint energy projects and creating a gas hub in Türkiye were discussed among other issues between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during telephone talks on Sunday, 11 Dec.
“The special importance of joint energy projects, primarily in the gas industry, was emphasised. Following the recent talks in Istanbul by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller the discussion continued of the initiative to create a regional gas hub in Türkiye,” the Kremlin said in a press release.
The head of Gazprom met with Erdogan on Friday, 9 December. The meeting was attended by Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez. The sides discussed the prospects of creating a gas hub in Türkiye.
In October, Putin proposed the creation of a large gas hub in Türkiye, through which Russian gas will go to third countries, and primarily to Europe, to replace the lost Nord Stream route. Later, Erdogan told that the topic of the gas hub will be discussed at a trilateral summit with the participation of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
Recently, Erdogan’s press secretary Ibrahim Kalyn said that not only Azerbaijani gas, but also energy resources of Turkmenistan, and possibly Kazakhstan in the future, can reach Europe through the TANAP energy corridor, and the Türkiye-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan trilateral meeting is one of the most important stages of this process. ///nCa, 12 December 2022