The plan to establish an international gas hub emphasizes Türkiye's strategic role in global energy trade, according to a top Russian official.
The hub "is one of the initiatives which underscores Türkiye's role as a reliable partner to become the hub for future energy supplies in various formats," said Pavel Sorokin, Russia's first deputy minister of energy.
The plan for the hub was first floated by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022 after the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. Russia seeks to replace lost sales to Europe, supporting Ankara's long-held desire to function as an exchange for the energy-starved countries.
This will create a physical gas hub for natural gas and a financial "node" for regional connectivity, Sorokin told Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the Istanbul Energy Forum.
Russia's gas exports have been severely curtailed after European countries imposed an embargo after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Lower gas quantities from Russia via Ukraine brought forward Türkiye's role as a transfer facilitator in the region.
Russia currently supplies gas to Türkiye via the Blue Stream and TurkStream pipelines across the Black Sea.
Speaking on the global energy landscape, Sorokin underlined the importance of pragmatism and economic logic in energy partnerships, particularly amid rising political tensions in the sector.
He said that he believes Türkiye "would continue to develop its role" in the future and his country was "ready to work with partners, all the companies and the governments to make it a safe and reliable route."
He pointed out Türkiye's "privileged geographic position" connecting Europe and Asia. "It is a very convenient transit route from many of the traditional energy supply areas," he said.
Türkiye has "shown that thanks to pragmatism and economic reasoning, not political," it was able to build a credible spot for itself in the transit market as well.
He highlighted the development of significant energy infrastructure, including the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), TurkStream and BlueStream, which supply both the Turkish market and European consumers.
"Türkiye has done a very good job of consolidating interest and once again putting the economy ahead," he added.
Noting that Türkiye is also a major energy consumer, Sorokin said: "The economy and the population are growing and the industrial base is significantly developing" in the country.
Türkiye requires energy more and more every year, he said. "Energy should come at a competitive price. There should be diversity of sources," explained the Russian deputy minister.
Türkiye shares a maritime border with both Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. It opposes Russia's invasion, as well as Western sanctions against Moscow.
Ankara played a key role in putting in place a deal to ensure grain could be shipped safely from Ukraine's Black Sea ports. The accord remained in effect for a year.
Türkiye has urged Kyiv and Moscow to end the fighting through negotiations, repeatedly stressing its readiness for any initiative, including mediation, to lay the groundwork for peace.
Sorokin warned that political interference in energy markets disrupts traditional supply chains, resulting in increased costs and price volatility.
"Over the past few years we have seen significant politicization of the energy scene, which has led to additional costs for consumers of hundreds of billion dollars," he noted.
He said that this has impacted not only the West but also the Global South, where many countries struggle to bear the higher costs.
Pointing out that any political interference in energy trade does lead to significant fluctuations in volatility, Sorokin said: "For example when traditional logistical routes are disrupted that means energy has to travel further which costs more to reach markets and that is more in cost of funding, that is more in logistical costs."
"So that is a very unfortunate development and we believe that the global economy does not deserve that," he said.
Sorokin pointed out Russia's position in global energy markets, saying that his country is a "very competitive supplier of energy to the global markets."
"We are low in the cost curve and we have managed quite efficiently to redirect more flows for those countries that do not want our energy," he added.
"If somebody doesn't want it, we are not going to force it upon them to buy it," he said and added, "We will work with those countries which are more pragmatic and have been our long-term partners both in Asia, in the Middle East, in Africa and in America. So pretty much I would say 85% of the global population is very pragmatic about it."
"So our role will continue as it is," he said.
"We are in the top three energy suppliers to the global market and we will remain in that position because we have the technological competence, we have the resource base and we have the good relations which we thank our partners for with which we can build it," Sorokin said.
"So we will continue supplying energy at a competitive price to the global market," he added.
Sorokin also mentioned other partnership areas in the energy sector. "Energy transition should not just be a slogan," he said.
"It should be a process which not only helps us achieve climate goals but also helps us reach that goal through economically viable measures without putting too much strain on the consumer," he added, saying, "that definitely requires partnership."
Noting the "huge impact of politics on the global energy market," Sorokin said that countries need to cooperate more on a regional basis as well to create regional solutions for this.
Such cooperation isn't limited to renewables, he said, adding that the world can also collaborate on technologies like carbon capture, utilization, and storage, as well as increase industrial energy efficiency.
Sorokin also pointed out "huge areas of cooperation where we can do it together" such as new energy technologies, nuclear energy and hydrogen.
"Especially with hydrogen, we'll first need to make it work economically and make the costs of it competitive so that once again it's not the consumer that pays but it rather acts as an additional motivating factor toward a greener future."
