Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday that he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to create a “gas hub” in Turkey, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
During an address to the Turkish parliament, Erdogan cited Putin as saying Europe could obtain its gas supply from the hub in Turkey while Russia’s supplies to Europe were disrupted by Ukraine-related sanctions and leaks at key pipelines.
Last week, the two leaders discussed the creation of the gas hub at a face-to-face meeting in the Kazakh capital Astana.
“Turkey has turned out to be the most reliable route for deliveries today, even to Europe,” Putin said last week.
Gas prices have skyrocketed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, and the EU has struggled to find alternative energy supplies after Russia decided to curtail its deliveries to Europe in response to Western sanctions.
AFP contributed reporting.
