Ankara: Turkey is turning into a major gas hub that foreign countries rely on thanks to its balanced policy on the Ukrainian conflict, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow could redirect gas transit from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to Turkey and later discussed this initiative with Erdogan. The two leaders instructed relevant institutions to quickly work out the details.
“Turkey’s balanced policy [on the Ukrainian conflict] has been welcomed worldwide. Had we listened to the critics, we would have to think about how to survive the coming winter just like Europeans. However, Ankara has chosen a different path, and we have no problems with gas,” Erdogan said at a domestic event on Saturday, as quoted by the Turkish news agency Anadolu.
The president noted that “foreign countries pin their hopes on Turkey as it is turning into a major gas hub.”
The start of hostilities in Ukraine in February exacerbated the energy crisis unfolding in Europe over the past year. Disruptions in logistical and financial operations due to the crisis and Western sanctions against Russia have undermined supply chains and led to a spike in energy prices worldwide, pushing many European governments to resort to contingency measures.
