Türkiye starts works for becoming gas hub, Erdoğan tells Putin

ANKARA

Turkish government has started doing technical works as well as legal and commercial assessments for building a natural gas center on its soils upon the proposal of Russia, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin exchanged a phone conversation on Nov. 18, the Communication Directorate has announced through a written statement. The two leaders discussed regional issues, particularly the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as bilateral issues, read the statement.

One of the issues on the leaders’ agenda was Putin’s proposal of turning Türkiye into a regional natural gas hub to deliver Russia’s gas to European countries. According to the statement, Erdoğan thanked Putin for this proposal and informed the Russian leader that the teams tasked by the Turkish government will handle technical works and make assessments on legal and commercial aspects of the project.

The center would be built in Türkiye’s Thrace region from where the Russian gas could be transported to the European countries through existing pipelines. Putin made this proposal after his meeting with Erdoğan in Kazakhstan’s Astana in mid-October.

This idea came to the fore as the prominent European countries declared their intention to stop buying gas from Russia because it is using it as a weapon. Putin had said that Türkiye could be a credible gas distributor to Europe. Türkiye is supplying most of its natural gas from Russia through pipelines across the Black Sea.

‘Prolongation of war risky’

Erdoğan and Putin also discussed the course of the continued war between Moscow and Kiev. Erdoğan thanked Putin for his positive stance for the extension of the grain deal for another 120 days. The agreement paves the way for Russia and Ukraine to export its food products to the global markets through the Black Sea.

On the war, Erdoğan expressed his concerns that the prolongation of war is increasing risks and avoiding them requires the revival of intensified diplomatic efforts. According to the statement, Erdoğan hailed a meeting between the American and Russian secret service heads in Türkiye as playing a key role in preventing an uncontrolled escalation in the field.

Erdoğan did refer to a publicly unannounced rare meeting between CIA chief William Burns and Russian Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia Director Sergei Naryshkin in Ankara on Nov. 14.

On his return from Indonesia, Erdoğan told journalists that Russian and American spy chiefs have assured each other that they won’t resort to using nuclear weapons.

In the meantime, Erdoğan thanked Putin for his condolences after the deadly terrorist attack that killed six and injured dozens in downtown Istanbul on Nov. 13.