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Turkiye Energy Minister says Putin proposal to establish gas hub in Turkiye ‘should be discussed’

October 13, 2022 at 9:06 am

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez in Istanbul, Turkiye on June 14, 2022 [İsa Terli/Anadolu Agency]

Turkish Energy Minister, Fatih Donmez, said Wednesday that it was too early to comment on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a European gas hub in Turkiye, but added that the issue should be discussed, Reuters reported.

Speaking at the Russia Energy Week conference in Moscow, both Putin and Gazprom Head, Alexei Miller, suggested creating a gas hub in Turkiye.

Putin said that Russia could redirect supplies intended for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea to create the hub in Turkiye, or even use the one intact part of Nord Stream 2 to supply the European Union.

Speaking at the same conference, Donmez said the proposal “should be discussed”.

Last month, a series of explosions caused severe damage to Russia’s undersea Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines.

Putin said, during the conference, that the lines can be repaired, but Russia and Europe must decide their fate first.

Putin added that this can only be done if Russia’s “partners are interested”, as well as with the availability of assurance of economic feasibility.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Europe, which relies on Moscow to secure over 50 per cent of its need for natural gas, has been suffering from a real gas crisis amid fears that the situation could worsen in the winter.

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