Russia names goal of gas hub in Türkiye

The purpose of the gas hub in Türkiye is to create the necessary infrastructure for further strengthening commercial contacts in this area, Russian Foreign Ministry’s Fourth European Department Director Yuri Pilipson said.

"Ankara remains a major consumer of domestic hydrocarbon resources, the Blue Stream and Turkish Stream gas pipelines are operating steadily. The aforementioned ‘hub’ aims to create the necessary infrastructure for further strengthening commercial contacts in this area," he explained, Prime reports.

The sale and purchase of gas through the gas hub project proposed by Russia in Türkiye should begin in 2024, said Energy Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez.

Earlier, he stated that in early April, Türkiye began the process of amending the legislation on the gas hub project proposed by Russia, and they are expected to be approved by the country's President Tayyip Erdogan. According to him, some European countries, including Hungary and Serbia, are interested in buying gas through this hub.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan in October last year instructed to work out in detail the issue of creating a gas hub. Through it, in particular, it would be possible to move gas supplies from the damaged Nord Streams. At the same time, we are talking not only about creating a trading platform in Türkiye but also about developing infrastructure and increasing supplies in the southern direction, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak said. Other countries can also participate here, he said: Algeria, Qatar and Azerbaijan also supply gas to Europe via the southern direction.