Turkey will create an international hub from which Russian gas can be supplied to Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday, TASS reports.
Erdogan was speaking in parliament at a meeting of the faction of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) headed by him.
"In Europe they are now dealing with the question of how to stay warm in the coming winter. We don’t have such a problem. We have agreed with [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to create a gas hub in our country, through which natural gas, as he says, can be delivered to Europe. Thus, Europe will order gas from Turkey," he said.
Speaking at the Russian Energy Week forum last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed creating the largest gas hub in Europe in Turkey and redirecting the volume of gas, the transit of which is no longer possible through the Nord Stream, to this hub. According to him, it may imply building another gas pipeline system and creating a hub in Turkey, through which gas will be supplied to third countries, primarily European ones, if they are interested.
The creation of a gas hub in Turkey was discussed on October 13 in Astana at talks between the Russian and Turkish presidents. According to Erdogan, the hub should be established as soon as possible and the most suitable place for it is the Thrace region in the European part of Turkey.
