The Kremlin: Putin and Erdogan discussing building pipelines to transport natural gas through Türkiye to replace Nord Stream

The Kremlin announced Wednesday that it expects Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to present to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a concrete proposal related to mediation over the conflict in Ukraine, knowing that the two presidents will meet Thursday in Kazakhstan.

“The Turks are offering their mediation,” Kremlin diplomatic adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

If there are (Russian-Ukrainian) contacts, they will take place on Turkish territory”.

He added that “Erdogan may officially propose something,” expecting a “useful and interesting discussion”.

Before a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country is considering setting up more undersea natural gas pipelines to Türkiye to redirect the disrupted flow of Nord Stream to Europe.

“We can transport through the Black Sea the missing quantities of Nord Stream, which were transported through the Baltic Sea,” Putin was quoted as saying by Bloomberg News Agency on Wednesday in a speech at the Russian Energy Week forum in Moscow.

The Russian president made it clear that establishing lines across the Black Sea to Türkiye could become Russia’s main natural gas export route to Europe.

Putin, who is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart in Kazakhstan on Thursday, said additional lines to Türkiye might be possible if Ankara, a close political and economic ally, was interested.

“It is economically feasible, and given recent events, the level of security there is much higher,” Putin added.