Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey has the ability to supply Europe with natural gas from Russia and Turkmenistan. And Ankara considers such an opportunity as very promising.
“If we talk about whether Turkmenistan has the opportunity to sell its natural gas directly to Europe or not, then Turkey is of course an important hub for the sale of Turkmen gas to Europe. And the recent events with the sale of Russian natural gas to Europe through us, 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.
The President of Turkey noted that in order to implement the supply of Turkmen gas to Europe through Turkey, it is necessary “for Ashgabat to resolve the issue with Baku.”
“However, one step must be taken here. What is it? At present, the question is whether Turkmenistan, as a coastal territory of the Caspian Sea, resolved this issue with Azerbaijan“, – RIA Novosti quotes the President of Turkey.
Erdogan told about this, returning from the summit, which was also attended by the presidents of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. One of the main issues was cooperation in the field of energy.
Turkmenistan has large reserves of natural gas. And Turkey’s interest in supplies is obvious. Moreover, not so much even for myself, but for further resale to Europe.
However, this requires the construction of a pipeline from Turkmenistan through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan. The project of such a pipeline exists, but in 2021 its implementation was frozen for an indefinite period. The deadline, according to Erdogan, that Turkmenistan should resolve this issue with Azerbaijan, no significant progress has been made on this issue..
As for the supply of Russian gas, we recall that in October Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia could move gas transit from the Nord Streams to the Black Sea region and Turkey.
The Russian leader discussed this idea with the President of Turkey, they instructed to work out the issue in detail and quickly. Ankara later announced that the gas distribution center under the project would be located in the European part of the country, and a road map could be developed before the end of the year.
Turkish leadership makes no secret of the fact that he would like to create a gas hub in the country, in which supplies from Russia and Azerbaijan would converge. And in the future – from the same Turkmenistan and, perhaps, from the Middle East. It is not a fact, of course, that it will work out with Turkmenistan, as well as with the Middle East. But why not try, there are already deliveries from Russia and Azerbaijan.
If this plan is implemented, Turkey will become the most important point for supplying natural gas to the countries of Southern Europe, with access to Central Europe. Obviously, Ankara will try to implement this plan. At least, she will do everything that depends on her.
