2023-09-15 06:10:26
The Turkish Minister of Energy has for the first time questioned the interest of a gas exchange platform with Russia proposed last year by Vladimir Putin to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“We sell gas to Bulgaria, to Hungary. Turkey is already a reliable transit country for gas, insisted Mr. Bayraktar, who spoke Thursday in Ankara.
The interview was embargoed until Friday morning at the request of the ministry.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed last year in October to Turkish President Erdogan to create a “gas hub” to export gas to Europe and third countries, on the sidelines of a regional summit in Astana, Kazakhastan.
The next day, the Turkish head of state assured that work would begin without delay on “an international distribution center”.
“There will be no waiting on this subject,” he said, specifying that the possible “hub” might be built in the Thrace region, in the north-west of Turkey bordering Bulgaria. and Greece.
The idea was very poorly received by the Europeans who saw it as a way for Turkey to increase its purchases from Russia while they were trying to limit theirs.
“There is no sense for us in creating new infrastructure that would allow us to import more Russian gas,” Paris stressed.
Vladimir Putin then corrected his remarks by affirming that he was thinking more of an electronic commerce platform than of a physical gas storage site.
Which the minister also seemed to rule out on Thursday.
According to him, things have dragged on since Astana “because of the earthquake (which hit southern Turkey on February 6) then the elections: let’s say we took a break, but we are in discussions,” he said. -he adds.
Russia already supplies Turkey through the TurkStream gas pipeline which crosses the Black Sea.
Ankara, which has managed since February 2022 to maintain relations with Moscow as well as with Kyiv, still hopes to play mediator between the two parties.
Turkey, whose gas needs are colossal – and 90% covered by imports – has made efforts to diversify its supplies and “imports from ten different countries”, recalled Mr. Bayraktar, citing in particular Algeria and the Qatar and soon Israel.
“I spoke regarding it with the Israeli energy minister and (President) Erdogan will speak with the Israeli prime minister.”
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