Kremlin: Quake may delay gas hub establishment in Turkey

MOSCOW, Feb 9 (PRIME) -- The establishment of a gas hub in Turkey is not a priority for Ankara after the disastrous earthquake that happened earlier this week, and the works may be delayed, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"This indeed cannot be a priority for the Republic of Turkey now. We embrace that,” Peskov said.

“The schedule can be shifted. As you know, the pace of works in this area was very high. But we have no doubt that Turkey will cope with the disaster, will provide all necessary help to the victims, will take care of recovering the destroyed cities."

He added that the plans of gas hub establishment will be carried out in spite of the earthquake.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered the governments of both countries in 2022 to work on creation of a gas hub in Turkey swiftly and in detail. The hub could be used to transfer transit of gas from Russia's Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea region, and Erdogan thinks that Europe could receive Russian gas through Turkey.

End