WEB DESK
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow could export more gas via Turkey and turn it into a new supply “hub”, bidding to preserve Russia’s energy leverage over Europe. At a meeting in Kazakhstan, Putin said Turkey offered the most reliable route to deliver gas to the European Union. He said the proposed platform would allow prices to be set without politics. Putin told Erdogan the hub would be a platform not only for supplies but also for determining the price because this is a very important issue.
Erdogan did not respond in the televised portion of their meeting. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the Russian news agency RIA as saying both leaders have ordered a rapid and detailed examination of the idea.
Russia is looking to redirect supplies away from the Nord Stream Baltic gas pipelines, damaged in explosions last month that are still under investigation.
Erdogan has sought to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv and achieved a rare breakthrough in July when, together with the United Nations, he brokered an agreement allowing for the resumption of commercial Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports that Russia had blockaded.