“We have given, with Mr. Putin, to our Ministry of Energy and to the institution concerned in Russia, the order to carry out joint work”, affirmed Mr. Erdogan about a possible gas hub in Turkey during an interview with reporters aboard his return flight from Astana, Kazakhstan, where he met the Russian president on Thursday.
The Turkish head of state also said that work would begin immediately.
“There will be no waiting on this,” he added, noting that the eventual hub could be built in the Thrace region in northwestern Turkey.
Mr Putin proposed on Thursday to create a gas hub in Turkey as Russian gas deliveries to Europe are heavily affected by Western sanctions imposed on Russia, the EU considering a cap on gas prices in the face of the rise in energy bills caused by the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The “gas hub” to Europe proposed by Putin makes “no sense”, while Europeans want to reduce their dependence on hydrocarbons from Russia, for its part reacted Paris Thursday evening.
“It makes no sense for us to create new infrastructure that would allow us to import more Russian gas,” said the Elysée.