MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/. The capacity of the projected gas transportation system to run across the Black Sea may be comparable to that of Baltic pipelines lost as a result of Nord Stream pipe damage, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller told Russia’s Channel One on Thursday.

"If we talk about volumes that may appear in the TurkStream corridor, about new gas transit capacities, then we are talking about the volume that we have lost in the Baltic, in Nord Streams due to the acts of international terrorism," he said.

In Miller's opinion, the proposed new volumes of gas will find demand on the market.

"There are valid gas delivery contracts for Nord Stream 1. For reasons outside our control, we are not delivering gas under these contracts at the moment, but those contracts are still valid, and there are buyers interested in purchasing those volumes of gas," he said.

The Russian gas holding has capacities to build offshore pipelines on its own and within a relatively short timeframe, Miller added.

The creation of a gas hub on the border between Turkey and Europe is now being discussed, Miller added.

New Russia-Turkey gas project

At the Russian Energy Week conference on Wednesday, Putin proposed creating Europe’s largest natural gas hub in Turkey that could handle the transit of gas that used to go through the Nord Stream pipelines. The Russian leader also reiterated the proposal at a meeting with Erdogan in Astana on Thursday.

He said the idea is to build another gas pipeline system and create a hub in Turkey that would ship the fuel on to third countries, primarily in Europe, if they are interested in that. According to Putin, the hub could also serve as a platform to set gas prices "at a normal market level, without any political tinge."

The Russian leader sees Turkey as the most reliable route for gas supplies to Europe these days, adding it was made possible by Erdogan’s firm support for the construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline.

Back in 2019, Miller told TASS that he does not rule out the possibility of building the Turkish Stream 2 pipeline, if there is demand on the market, and all necessary arrangements are in place.