Putin proposes to Erdogan that Turkey serve as a base for the export of Russian gas

The Kremlin reports several arrests for an alleged plan to attack the Turkstream

The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has stated that Turkey is the "most reliable" partner for supplying gas to Europe and has proposed the construction of new infrastructures that would make that country a strategic node for exports to third countries, "mainly " Europeans.

This has been transferred by Putin to his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a meeting in Kazakhstan in which he has proposed closer energy alliance "if Turkey and potential buyers are interested," reports the Interfax news agency.

Putin's plan involves building new gas pipelines and also an energy exchange between Russia and Turkey, at a time when he considers that the Turkstream is the safest route to export gas, especially as a result of the sabotage in the Nord Stream, in the Baltic Sea.

Ankara has not officially commented on Putin's proposal, but Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said the Turkish side seems "quite interested" in the idea. Thus, both presidents would have given instructions to examine the initiative in more detail.

The Russian president on Wednesday called the sabotage on Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 an "international terrorist action," suggesting the United States might be behind it. This Thursday, he insisted that Russia is willing to stabilize the gas market "without any political influence."

According to Putin, the Turkstream, which runs through the Black Sea to Turkey, would also be among the targets of the alleged external conspirators, but the alleged attack "did not happen".

Peskov has subsequently confirmed this alleged attack, stating that "several people were arrested" for trying to sabotage the Turkstream on Russian territory.