EU Opposition Unlikely To Deter Creation Of Gas Hub In Turkey - Turkish Politician

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EU Opposition Unlikely to Deter Creation of Gas Hub in Turkey - Turkish Politician

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2022) Any position of the European Union on the creation of a gas hub in Turkey will have minimal impact on the implementation of the idea, if Russia and Turkey decide to stand together focusing on mutual benefits, Ozturk Yilmaz, the head of Turkey's Innovation Party, told Sputnik.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that Moscow redirect gas flows from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to Turkey. The Russian leader discussed the idea with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during their face-to-face meeting in Astana, after which the two presidents instructed their respective state bodies to begin work on Putin's proposal without delay.

"Whatever decision the EU takes, that is going to affect Turkey, but I think the more important thing here is not a EU reaction, but how resilient Russia and Turkey are going to stand against this reaction. This is more important than the reaction. Turkey and Russia firmly standing are more important," Yilmaz said.

According to the politician, Ankara and Moscow are quite likely to agree on a common stance on the issue, since the gas hub creation can bring benefits to both parties. Moreover, it will have a positive impact on the reputation of the Russian and Turkish leaders. In particular, the implementation of Putin's proposal will increase Erdogan's chances of winning the 2023 presidential election.

"Erdogan can exploit this to get benefit, that is for sure. Putin can also get some benefit through showing that he is punishing the European countries by redirecting the flow of gas designed for Europe," Yilmaz added.

At the same time, despite the obvious benefits, the promising idea, if implemented, will not be enough to get Turkey out of the current economic crisis, the politician said.

"The crisis is more deep-routed, structural and not easy to be solved. There must be some investments in Turkey to create jobs, decrease inflation and increase export. Structural attempts must be made to overcome the economic crisis," he explained.

When asked whether Ankara would be able to ensure the security of the proposed energy hub, Yilmaz argued that Turkey has the necessary capacity for preventing attacks similar to the Nord Stream pipelines. He also recalled that the country had proved to be Russia's credible partner.

"Turkey is trying to resolve the problem, to resolve all the problems through amicable ways, through negotiations, through dialogue. And Russia is a very important partner for us, we can't lose the friendship of Russia despite the fact that we have some concern about the ongoing events. But we want to maintain the friendship. We can't act like Europeans, we can't do (anything) like that," Yilmaz said.

In late September, leaks were registered in the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which play a key role in the transit of Russian gas to Europe. The Swedish and Danish authorities suspect the leaks to be the result of sabotage. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office is investigating the pipeline incidents as acts of international terrorism.