Putin Says Hopefully Moscow, Ankara Will Agree on Turkiye Gas Hub Soon

On September 4, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived to Russia's Sochi to meet with his Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia is open to negotiations on resuming the Black Sea grain deal, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Sochi on Monday.

"I know that questions on the grain deal are planned to be raised. We are open to negotiations on this matter," Putin said during the meeting.

Vladimir Putin said that issues related to the conflict in Ukraine will be included in the agenda of the Monday meeting.

"There is something to talk about in terms of ensuring security in the region. Of course, we will not ignore the issues related to the Ukrainian crisis," Putin said at the meeting.

The pace of development of relations between Russia and Turkiye has been maintained, the positive trend of trade turnover in the first half of the year has also been maintained, although it is not as strong as last year, Putin said.

The Russian President said that he hopes that Moscow and Ankara will complete negotiations on the creation of a gas hub in Turkiye soon.

"I hope that in the near future we will complete negotiations on the creation of a gas hub in Turkiye in order to make the energy situation in the region more stable and balanced. And I think this will be beneficial," Putin said.

Regarding the energy cooperation, Putin said that "agreements have been reached" between main supplies and consumers on both sides.

The Akkuyu nuclear power plant project in Turkiye is developing according to its plan, and its first unit will be launched in 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"The construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant continues, now Turkiye has truly become a member of the international club of nuclear states, after the delivery of the first batch of Russian nuclear fuel Akkuyu, next year, everything is going according to plan, we will launch the first unit," Putin said at the meeting.

Russia is among the first countries that is trying to help Turkiye in times of need, including in fight against forest fires and dealing with consequences of earthquakes, Putin added.

"Dear president, you mentioned the fight against fires. I want to say that after the terrible earthquake that the Turkish people faced, we were among the first who tried help the Turkish people, to help ordinary people who suffered. The same goes for firefighting. All this suggests that we have brought Russian-Turkish relations to a very good and high level," Putin said.

Key Statements of Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkiye and Russia are on the path of reaching $100 billion trade, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting.

"We are going through a completely different period in relations between Turkiye and Russia, we are very pleased that our foreign trade is currently $62 billion, and we are moving towards our goal of $100 billion," the Turkish leader said.

The negotiations on the Black Sea Grain Initiative between Turkiye and Russia are important for the whole world, including the African countries, Erdogan said.

"Of course, the most important thing is the grain issue. The world is also waiting for today's results (of negotiations) ... I think that a step towards the underdeveloped African countries will be very important," Erdogan said.

The project on the creation of a gas hub in Turkiye is of great importance for Ankara, Erdogan added.

"Another significant element for us is the creation of a [gas] hub in East Thrace," Erdogan said.

Erdogan also told Putin that works at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant are going well, adding that the sides will also take a step towards the construction of the Sinop nuclear power plant.

"We maintain a high level of cooperation with Russia in the energy sector, especially in the field of natural gas. I believe that we will develop these relations further," Erdogan said.

Switching to national currencies in bilateral cooperation between Ankara and Moscow is important, the Turkish President said.

"I believe that the fact that the heads of our central banks will meet here today is important from the point of view of a step towards the transition to national currencies in bilateral relations between us," Erdogan said.