Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia can redirect natural gas supplies for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea and the development of European gas hub in Turkiye.
Putin suggested this shortly after three leaks _ one in the Swedish zone and two in the Danish zone and–were discovered in Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines designed to ship natural gas to Germany.
Scandinavian investigations have determined “sabotage”, which damaged the pipelines, Russia said that the U.S. benefited from the damage. Moscow has previously said the leaks occurred in territory that is “fully under the control” of U.S. intelligence agencies.
Putin now says it’s possible to repair the pipelines, but that Russia and Europe should decide their fate.
Putin said, “We could move the lost volumes from the Nord Streams along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea region and make the main routes for the supply of our fuel, our natural gas to Europe through Turkey.
And economic feasibility, of course” he said at an energy conference in Moscow, adding that the ball is now in the court of the European Union.
Three of the Nord Stream pipelines are currently damaged, leaving only one line of Nord Stream 2, which has an annual capacity of 27.5 billion cubic meters.
Not surprisingly, Turkey appears willing to play along with Putin’s proposed gas project. Whereas Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Wednesday that it was too early to comment on the proposal, he added that the issue should be discussed.
