Russia's push to create a "gas hub" in Turkey to replace lost sales to Europe is facing delays because of disagreements over who should be in charge of it, two sources familiar with the project told
Reuters.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the idea in October 2022, shortly after explosions damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea. It remains unclear who was responsible for the blasts.
A source familiar with the situation said the gas hub plan had faced delays because Moscow and Ankara were squabbling over control.
"There are managerial issues, they are fighting for who should manage the hub," the source said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Another source, close to Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM), acknowledged there was a "problem" over the management issues.
Gazprom and the Turkish energy ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia sees the hub as a way to re-route its gas exports now that European countries have sharply cut their buying. It hopes to sell some gas via Turkey to countries that would not be willing to buy directly from Russia.
Moscow currently supplies gas to Turkey via the Blue Stream and TurkStream pipelines across the Black Sea. Gas via TurkStream also goes for further exports to southern and eastern Europe, including Hungary, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Serbia.
