After European states increasingly tried to get away from Russia’s gas supply, Vladimir Putin is already working on alternatives. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now believed to jump to his side — and expand Turkey into a major transshipment point and exchange for natural gas.
Gas supplies to Europe continue to fund much of Russia’s war against Ukraine. However, after intensive efforts, more and more countries are succeeding in finding alternatives. To make up for the shortages, Russia needs new trading partners – and new pipelines to transport the gas to new customers.
Putin tackles Erdogan
“If Turkey and our potential buyers are interested, we could consider building another gas pipeline and creating a gas hub in Turkey for sales to third countries, mainly Europe,” Putin told his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting on Thursday. in Kazakhstan.
In addition, a gas exchange for pricing could also be set up in Turkey, Putin suggested, according to Interfax news agency. The Russian president praised the Turkstream pipeline, which runs through the Black Sea to Turkey and southern Europe, as the safest route for Russian gas.
Deliveries to the EU are drying up
At the end of September, both lines of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline leading from Russia to Germany and one of the two lines of Nord Stream 2 in the Baltic Sea were damaged by explosions. EU and NATO representatives then spoke of sabotage. Putin himself spoke of an “international terrorist attack” on Wednesday and said he believed the United States could be behind it.
Putin locates next ‘terrorist attack’
The Turkstream line was also going to be blown up, Putin claimed, but it didn’t happen. Turkstream continues to function reliably. Turkey is therefore a logical choice for building a distribution point and gas-fired power station. “Today prices are sky high and we can safely regulate them there to a normal market level without any political overlay,” Putin said.
The meeting of the two heads of state in Astana, in Central Asian Kazakhstan, took place on the sidelines of the Conference on Cooperation and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
