Putin dusts off the Black Sea route for gas. During the'meeting in Astana between the Russian president Vladimir Putin and its Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the official proposal with which Russia aims to break its isolation has arrived: the creation of a energy hub in Türkiye, making the Black Sea region "the main route for supplying fuel and gas to Europe through Turkey". The potential hub will serve – according to Putin – also “for control gas prices. These prices are skyrocketing now and we could safely adjust them to a normal market level without any politicisation,” concluded the Russian president, quoted by Interfax. An idea that the Turkish president seems to have liked.
A return to the origins? Before Nord Stream was conceived to create alternative routes in northern Europe that bypassed the Ukrainian capital, the network of gas pipelines through Ukraine was at the center of Russian exports together with Blue Stream (by Eni and Gazprom) through the Black Sea.
Putin-Erdogan meeting: gas, grain but no war
Among the topics covered in the bilateral meeting also the strengthening of thewheat deal stipulated last July between Moscow and Ankara with the mediation of the UN. Turkey is "determined to strengthen the wheat deal, we need to ensure that supplies continue and are not disrupted," Erdogan told Putin during their meeting. We also need to ensure that "Russian grain and fertilizers are sent to less developed countries via Istanbul and we are very determined on this".
Then the reference toexplosion on the Crimean bridge, which took place on Friday 8 October, which according to the Russian president did not damage the Turkish Stream, i.e. the gas pipeline arriving in Türkiye.
Gas, energy, grain but no war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said that the question is possible resolution of the conflict in Ukraine it was not discussed by the two during their meeting. This was reported by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Putin: "Gas hub in Türkiye as a platform for gas prices"
Now that Nord Stream is out of order, supplies of Russian gas to Europe - albeit reduced - could only come from Ukraine and Turkey. “Transfer lost Nord Stream volumes to the Black Sea region – said the head of the Kremlin – by creating the largest gas hub for Europe in Turkey. If our partners are interested, of course." "The Turkish side has shown a rather interested reaction to President Putin's initiative and the presidents have given the task of resolving the issue very quickly," said Russian spokesman Peskov.
But what is Erdogan's game? The Turkish president would like to expand his role internationally and the diplomatic mediation with which he has already obtained the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine. But why?
Erdogan and Putin: complicated relations with mutual benefits
With the war, relations between Turkey, a NATO country, and Russia have strengthened. For years Turkey has been Russia's most trusted partner within NATO and with the outbreak of the conflict this "friendship" is strengthened. But why?
For Russia, Turkey has become a safe haven, the only country in Europe - and above all in NATO - that still welcomes Russian companies and the head of the Kremlin with open arms. With the war in Ukraine running aground and the harsh economic sanctions affecting Russian industry and the economy in general, Putin needs an ally. Benefits include energy and arms sales, investment and a close ties to a NATO member who is trying to isolate him and help Ukraine defeat its invading army.
Turkey, on the other hand, needs Russian money, gas and business as the Turkish president looks to a "risky" election. And for that reason it needs Moscow's help if it is to hold on to power: with its economy imploding and inflation running at about 80% a year, Russia has become a business partner increasingly essential and a source of cash, cheap energy, a large export market and renewed Russian tourism.
The war thus offered the Turkish president what he hoped for: to be the protagonist in this crisis, filling the role of mediator in the conflict, and at the same time restoring the status of a great power to your country.
