:quality(75)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/elcomercio/W4V543LZYRA6REKTHGZEQOJCG4.jpg "Putin proposes to Erdogan to create a Russian gas distribution center in Turkey")
Russian President Vladimir Putin today formally proposed to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to create a Russian gas distribution center in Turkey, which would also allow the creation of a platform to regulate “exorbitant” prices.
“Yesterday at Energy Week, after consultations with your energy minister and the head of the public oil pipeline and transportation company Boots, we agreed with Gazprom to study the construction of a gas pipeline system and the creation of a gas center in Turkey for sale to third countries, mainly European, if there is interest”he noted at a bilateral meeting.
The head of the Kremlin maintained that, in the course of the work of this gas center Russia Y Turkey together they could create “a platform not only for gas supplies, but also to determine prices, because this is a very important issue.”
“Today these prices are exorbitant, and we could easily regulate them at a normal market level without political nuances”, held Putin in view of Erdoğan.
The Russian president stressed that, regarding Russian hydrocarbons, including gas, Turkey it is the “currently most reliable route for supply to Europe” through the TurkStream gas pipeline.
This pipeline transports Russian gas to Turkey and several countries in southern and southeastern Europe.
The TurkStream, lying on the bottom of the Black Sea, can transport up to 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Hungary and North Macedonia receive supplies this way.
The Russian Minister of Energy, Nikolai Shulgínov, affirmed this Thursday in Moscow that it is necessary not only to negotiate this project with Turkeybut also with “friendly” European countries.
“I think it is necessary to negotiate not only with the Turkish side, since we are creating it not only for Turkey, but also for Europe. Therefore, we must understand its importance for European consumers and for friendly countries”, he said, according to the official TASS agency.
The intention of Putin is to divert the transit of gas lost through the Baltic Sea route by the Nord Stream gas pipelines – totally or partially disabled due to leaks and the German blockade – to the Black Sea region to create in Turkey a distribution center for Europe, which is in the process of reducing its dependence on Russian fuel.
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
