Türkiye denies the suspension of negotiations with Russia on the creation of a gas hub

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said that negotiations on the creation of a gas hub in the republic are continuing. According to him, there was a short pause due to the devastating earthquake, but now Russia and Turkey continue negotiations.

“Since they offered us this gas trading platform, there has been an earthquake and also an election. So there was a bit of a pause period, but now we are negotiating again. If we want to get more gas, if we want to get more players into the game, then maybe a new exchange could be more meaningful. We are not against the creation of an additional platform for gas trading. But if we now have a functioning gas trading platform, then we don’t need to wait another year to start this trading operation,” the minister said at a briefing in Ankara, answering a question from a TASS journalist.

The gas hub was proposed to be created by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2022. The earthquake that Mr. Bayraktar mentioned occurred on February 6, 2023. As a result of the disaster in eastern Turkey, more than 50 thousand people died. Another 8 thousand died in Syria. Turkish presidential elections took place in May. Recep Tayyip Erdogan won them in the second round.

Yesterday, September 14, Reuters, citing sources reportedthat the creation of a gas hub in Turkey for the supply of Russian fuel to Europe has been suspended. According to the agency, the reason was a dispute over who exactly should manage the facility.

The presidents of Russia and Turkey discussed the topic of gas during a meeting in Sochi on September 4. Vladimir Putin on them statedthat Russian gas exports to Turkey exceeded 10 billion cubic meters in eight months. m. Last year, supplies for the same period reached 21.5 billion cubic meters. m of gas. Such a low level of supplies to Turkey has not been observed since 2019. The day after the talks, Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated, which aims to “transform Turkey into the center of the region, and then the global energy sector.” To do this, he wants to create a gas center similar to those in London and Hamburg.

Details – in the material “Kommersant” “The reduction has been put on “Stream””.

Mikhail Belyaev