• Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested increasing gas exports to Turkey through the underground TurkStream gas network.
• Thrace region of Turkey, which borders Greece and Bulgaria, appears to be the finest place for a gas distribution center, Erdogan says.
• Russian and Turkish energy agencies will collaborate to determine the optimal position.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, claims that the governments of his country and Russia have directed their respective energy agencies to start technical research right once on a Russian proposal that would turn Turkey into a gas hub for Europe.

This week, following the suspension of gas deliveries to Germany through the Nord Stream pipeline located in the Baltic Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested increasing gas exports to Turkey through the underground TurkStream gas network.

Erdogan stated that the Thrace region of Turkey, which borders Greece and Bulgaria, appeared to be the finest place for a gas distribution center, adding that the Russian and Turkish energy agencies will collaborate to determine the optimal position.

Erdogan visited Putin on Thursday on the margins of a conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. “Together with Mr. Putin, we have instructed our Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the equivalent institution on the Russian side to work together,” Erdogan said.

They’ll carry out this investigation. We hope to set up this distribution center there, wherever it is most appropriate.

The Russian proposal was the subject of Erdogan’s first-ever public remarks, which reflected Turkey’s long-stated aim to develop into a major energy player.

Erdogan was cited as declaring, “There will be no waiting.”

Mevlut Cavusoglu, the foreign minister of Turkey, stated on Friday that the Russian plan “has to be carefully reviewed.”

During a joint news conference with his Qatari counterpart, he added, “There are investments that need to be made, and they need to be examined.

“The law of supply and demand applies here. What percentage of Europe is prepared to purchase gas from such a project? Together, we must resolve this.
Energy specialists, however, have questioned the probability that the plan to transport gas to Europe via Turkey will be implemented. Russian energy supplies have been criticized by European politicians, who claim that Moscow is trying to split them up over their support for Ukraine following Moscow’s invasion by cutting off their access to natural gas.

This week, Germany rejected another Putin proposal to increase gas exports to Europe using a section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that runs beneath the Baltic Sea but has never been put into use. Due to what Moscow claimed were technical issues, it decided to shut down the parallel Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.

When questioned about Putin’s claim that Russia had prevented an attack on the TurkStream gas pipeline, Erdogan responded that Turkey was taking all necessary precautions to secure the pipeline.

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