Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said that Ankara continues to discuss with Moscow the prospect of creating a gas hub and international gas trade center in Istanbul during a speech in Istanbul at the forum.
"Of course, negotiations with Russia on these issues are in progress. Russia is one of the main producers of gas, it is our largest source of gas. And it will get a place on this trading platform," he said.
Donmez recalled that Turkey plans to create a gas trading center available to all. "As we said, we intend to create something like a supermarket for natural gas. We are creating this trading platform, and our own rules will apply. Of course, they will have to meet international standards. But all producers and buyers will have to get a place in this market," said the Minister.
According to him, the bidding system will be free. "Buyers and sellers will communicate with each other and negotiate. Producers from Eurasia, Asia and other regions will be represented. They will be looking for buyers for their goods," Donmez said.
In October Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at the forum "Russian Energy Week" with the idea of creating a hub on the Turkish territory where the lost volume of transit through the "Nord Stream" could be redirected. He explained that the idea was about the possibility of building another pipeline system and creating a hub in Turkey through which gas would be delivered to third countries, first of all European countries, if they were interested in it. Ankara reacted positively to the initiative and stated that it was ready with much of the infrastructure for a hub and gas trading center in Istanbul.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Based on materials from TASS