Russia-Proposed Gas Hub Poses Threat To Turkey's Energy Independence - Kilicdaroglu

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Turkish opposition's presidential candidate, said Wednesday that the idea of creating a gas hub in Turkey is dangerous for Ankara and a threat to the country's energy independence

ISTANBUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2023) Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Turkish opposition's presidential candidate, said Wednesday that the idea of creating a gas hub in Turkey is dangerous for Ankara and a threat to the country's energy independence.

"I will not oppose good relations with Moscow; on the contrary � in some areas, such as the petrochemical industry and the aluminum industry � we received technological infrastructure from Russia. However, I am against Turkey's dependence on Russia in terms of energy," Kilicdaroglu said in an appearance on YouTube channel Babala TV, answering questions from viewers.

Kilicdaroglu believes this dependence is "extremely dangerous" and could create big problems for Turkey in the future.

"You say that you signed an agreement on the creation of a gas hub with Russia. If now Turkey is 30-40% dependent on Russia in terms of energy, the creation of a hub will increase the dependence to 70-80%. This is capitulation! We will lose!" the candidate said.

Kilicdaroglu said gas sales from fields in the Eastern Mediterranean to countries of the European Union at a discount without using the hub could be a way out of this situation.

In October 2022, the presidents of Turkey and Russia instructed their relevant authorities to map out the possibility of creating a gas hub in Turkey where traffic could be diverted from the damaged Nord Stream pipelines. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, the idea is not only to create a trading platform in Turkey but also to develop infrastructure and increase the volume of supplies to Europe. He said other countries can also join in as suppliers, including Algeria, Qatar and Azerbaijan.

In early April, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Ankara had initiated the process of introducing legislative amendments for the gas hub project proposed by Russia, adding that the changes were expected to be approved by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He then said that a number of European countries, including Hungary and Serbia, were interested in buying gas through the hub. Gas sales-purchase operations through the gas hub are planned to start in 2024, according to the minister.