Russia, Turkiye to Resume Active Talks on Gas Hub in Near Future: Source

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Active negotiations on the gas hub between Ankara and Moscow, which were suspended due to the devastating earthquakes in southeastern Turkiye, will resume in the near future, a source familiar with the talks told Sputnik on Friday.

"Yes, the 'catastrophe of the century' [the devastating earthquakes in southeastern Turkiye] has made certain adjustments. Active work is underway to eliminate the consequences, processes in the economy are being resumed. In the near future, active negotiations will resume," the source said, adding that Ankara considers the project a priority.

The cost of the gas hub project in Turkiye has not been finalized, the source said, adding that the parties are agreeing on the details.

Earlier it was reported, that the international meeting of gas consumers and suppliers on the gas hub, scheduled for February in Istanbul, was postponed to a later date due to the devastating earthquake in the country.

In January, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said that meeting on the creation of a gas hub in Turkiye, proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, was planned to be held in Istanbul on February 14-15.

"As you know, Turkiye has been stricken with great grief, the minister and his staff are in the earthquake zone. Since there are literally a few days left, the meeting has been postponed, most likely for several weeks," another source said.

In October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, instructed their governments to map 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.