Turkey has the ability to supply Russian and Turkmen gas to Europe – Erdogan
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey has the ability to supply Russian and Turkmen gas to Europe, this is an important step for Ankara. This is reported by RIA Novosti.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Russia could move gas transit from the "Northern Streams" to the Black Sea region and Turkey. The Russian leader discussed this idea with the Turkish president, and they instructed him to work out the issue in detail and quickly. Ankara later announced that the gas distribution center under the project would be located in Thrace, the European part of the country, and a roadmap could be developed by the end of the year.
If we talk about whether Turkmenistan has the opportunity to sell its natural gas directly to Europe or not, then Turkey, of course, is an important hub for the sale of Turkmen gas to Europe. "Both the recent events with the sale of Russian natural gas to Europe through us (referring to the gas hub project proposed by the President of the Russian Federation) and the sale of Turkmen gas through us, of course, will be an important step," Erdogan told reporters on the plane after returning from Turkmenistan.
According to him, in order to realize the supply of Turkmen gas to Europe through Turkey, it is necessary "for Ashgabat to resolve the issue with Baku."
"However, one step needs to be taken here. What's it? Currently, there is a question of Turkmenistan, as a coastal territory of the Caspian Sea, resolving this issue with Azerbaijan," he stressed.
Nuri AMANOV
