Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Tuesday that before the end of the year, the government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will draw up its own ‘roadmap’ to turn Turkey into a gas hub.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed in mid-October to redirect the volume of gas from Turkey to third countries, mainly European, due to the impossibility of using the Nord Stream pipelines. This opens up the possibility of building new stretches of gas infrastructure in the country.
«Turkey will not only be the region and hub where gas will be marketed. It will also be a distribution center,» he has indicated during an interview with TRT Haber TV channel, adding that the country «is in a very strategic place» in terms of «its geopolitical and geographical position.»
Likewise, the Turkish Energy Minister has specified that this ‘hub’ or gas distribution center will be located mainly in the Thrace region, where «many pipelines enter» and where there is «a great potential» due to its location.
Thus, Donmez explained that the objective of the Turkish government is «to create a transparent, safe market where everyone can agree with a ‘win-win’ logic», adding that, within the European market, Turkey «has assumed important roles that will strengthen its security of supply».
Beyond Europe, Ankara has also shown willingness to maintain trade relations with other Asian countries, such as Malaysia, or even with Gulf countries. «We have a pipeline that goes all the way to the Iraqi border. It could be a new alternative. When you look at it as liquefied natural gas, we have a lot of flexibility. The Gulf countries, namely UAE, Qatar, Oman, can send gas. As we are having talks,» he has indicated.
On the other hand, Donmez confirmed that Ankara has started to «partially» pay for Russian gas in rubles, as Erdogan himself announced last August, when he confirmed, after a visit to Russia, that he was going to trade a part of his imports in this currency.
