In an effort to maintain Russia’s energy clout over Europe, President Vladimir Putin has suggested to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Russia may export more gas through Turkey and establish it as a new supply hub.
The most dependable route to send gas to the European Union, according to Putin, is through Turkey, and the proposed hub would allow pricing to be determined independently of politics, he said during a meeting on Thursday in Kazakhstan.
Russia wants to divert supplies away from the two Baltic Nord Stream gas pipelines. Explosions that happened last month and are still being investigated caused damage to them. Without offering any supporting data, Russia accused the West of being to responsible and dismissed as “stupid” claims that it had damaged the pipelines on its own.
These prices are astronomical right now, he declared. “Without any political undertones, we could regulate at a normal market level easily.”
In the broadcast section of their meeting, Erdogan did not answer, but according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, both leaders ordered a quick and thorough investigation of the suggestion.
An achievable project.
Before its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia supplied nearly 40% of Europe’s gas, but it has drastically reduced shipments ever since, even before the pipeline disasters. The delivery delays, which it said were a result of Western sanctions, were attributed to technical issues.
Governments in Europe rejected that justification and accused Moscow of using energy as a geopolitical tool.
Turkish energy minister told reporters at the same energy conference as Putin in Kazakhstan that “this is a doable idea, and technically, energy-wise, this is possible and it shall be explored,” according to Sinem Koseoglu of Al Jazeera, reporting from Istanbul.
