ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th August, 2023) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may discuss energy projects, namely a gas hub project, during Putin's planned visit to Turkey in August, CNN Turk reported on Saturday, citing sources.
On Friday, Erdogan said he expected Putin's visit to Turkey to take place in August. Earlier in the week, Erdogan's office said the two leaders had agreed on Putin's visit to Turkey during a telephone conversation.
During the meeting in Turkey, Putin and Erdogan are expected to discuss renewing the grain deal and turning Turkey into a gas hub, as well as other energy projects, the report said.
In early April, then-Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Ankara had initiated the process of introducing legislative amendments for the gas hub project, adding that the changes were expected to be approved by Erdogan. He then said that a number of European countries, including Hungary and Serbia, were interested in buying gas through the hub. The purchase and sale of gas through the gas hub is expected to start in 2024, Donmez said.
On July 18, the Turkey- and UN-mediated Black Sea Grain Initiative, which provided for a humanitarian corridor to allow exports of Ukrainian grain over the past year, expired, as Russia did not renew its participation in the deal. Moscow emphasized that the deal's component on facilitating Russian grain and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled, specifically with regard to reconnecting Russian banks to SWIFT and unblocking the Tolyatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline.
