With winter just around the corner, Russia can continue to supply gas to Europe, Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. The Russian president proposed to create in Turkey the largest gas distribution center for the continent, and assured that gas can continue to reach European countries through the only Nord Stream 2 pipeline that is not damaged. But he noted that "the ball is now in the court of the European Union," whose countries have been trying to wean themselves off Russian energy since Putin brought his army into Ukraine.
Through the Turkish Stream, which crosses the Black Sea, "now 14,000 million cubic meters of gas reach Europe. It is not a very large volume, but it is decent," Putin said at the Russian Energy Week forum, which is being held in Moscow.
"The transit lost through the two Nord Streams, through the bottom of the Baltic Sea, we could move it to the Black Sea region and build there the main supply routes for our fuel, our natural gas to Europe, through Turkey, creating the largest gas hub for Europe," he explained. All this, "if of course our partners are interested".
According to the Russian president, this proposal would be economically profitable. But the most important thing, for him, is that security, "judging by recent events, it is clear that it is much higher."
Natural gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 have been suspended since the end of August. The Russian energy giant Gazprom explained that this situation was caused first by maintenance work on the gas transfer unit, and then by the malfunction of the turbine.
At the end of September there were explosions in this gas pipeline and in the Nord Stream 2, which was never put into operation. Russia and Western countries have accused each other of sabotage. President Putin said the leaks in the two gas pipelines were an "act of international terrorism" and deprived the population of cheap energy.
Efforts to use less Russian energy, coupled with severe supply cuts from Russia, have taken their toll on Europeans. The price of gas is almost 90% higher than a year ago and there are fears of rationing or power cuts during the coming winter.
Vladimir Putin asserted that Europe is to blame for its energy crisis, due to policies that deprived the oil and gas industries of investment. He added that capping hydrocarbon prices will only make the situation worse.
Moscow is ready to supply natural gas this fall and next winter to European markets, the Russian president said. "But the ball is now in the field of the European Union", which is the one that must "open the tap", he assured.
Putin pointed out that the capacity of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was not damaged by the explosions is 27.5 billion cubic meters per year, which represents about 8% of all gas imports in the European Union.
For Turkey, the proposal to create a distribution center for European markets on its territory is completely new. Its Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez, said that it needs to be studied in detail, but that technically it may be possible.
"It is probably too early to say that we know how to do it. For us, this is a new proposal. We need to discuss technical, commercial and legal issues," said the Ankara government representative in Moscow, during the Russian Energy Week forum.
In addition to the Turkish Stream, Moscow also supplies fuel to Turkey through the Blue Stream. Both gas pipelines are laid at the bottom of the Black Sea. The second, whose volume of supply amounted to 15.98 billion cubic meters in 2021, is designed to supply gas only to the Turkish market.
The Turkish Stream has two pipelines (with a capacity of 15.75 billion each). The first is used to supply Turkish consumers. the second, for the countries of southern and southeastern Europe.
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the company he runs is technically ready to build new gas pipelines to Turkey through the Black Sea and to the EU.
