Recep Erdogan wants Russia to make Europe depend on Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey could supply Europe with natural gas from Russia and Turkmenistan. Ankara considers this opportunity a very promising one.

"If we talk about whether Turkmenistan has the ability to sell its natural gas directly to Europe or not, then Turkey, of course, is an important hub for the sale of Turkmen gas to Europe. The recent events with the sale of Russian natural gas to Europe through us, and selling Turkmen gas through us will, of course, be an important step," Erdogan told reporters after returning from Turkmenistan.

The President of Turkey noted that in order to implement the supplies of Turkmen gas to Europe through Turkey, Turkmenistan needs to resolve the issue with Azerbaijan."

"However, one step needs to be taken here. What is it? Turkmenistan, as a coastal territory of the Caspian Sea, should resolve this issue with Azerbaijan,” RIA Novosti quotes the President of Turkey as saying.

Erdogan spoke about the above upon his return from the summit, in which the presidents of Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan took part as well. Cooperation in the field of energy was one of the main issues on the agenda of the summit.

Turkmenistan has large reserves of natural gas. Turkey's interest in gas supplies from Turkmenistan is obvious. More importantly, Turkey wants to get gas from Turkmenistan to be able to subsequently sell it to Europe.

In order for this initiative to become real, one needs to build a pipeline from Turkmenistan through the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan. The project of such a pipeline exists, but in 2021 it was shelved for an indefinite period. According to Erdogan, it is up to Turkmenistan to resolve this issue with Azerbaijan, but no significant progress has been made on this issue yet.

As for the supplies of Russian gas, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Russia could move gas transit from the Nord Streams to the Black Sea region and Turkey.

The Russian president discussed the idea with the President of Turkey, and they both instructed their experts to work out the issue in detail quickly. Ankara later announced that the gas distribution hub of the project would be located in the European part of the country, whereas the road map could be developed before the end of the year.

The Turkish leadership makes no secret of the fact that they would like to build a gas hub in the country where gas supplies from Russia and Azerbaijan would converge. Turkmenistan and perhaps the Middle East could become part of the project in the future.

If the plan becomes reality, 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 do its best to push this plan through and make it happen.