ANKARA, June 9. /TASS/. Turkey and Russia are interested in implementing the gas trading center (gas hub) project, so work on it is expected to speed up, a source in Ankara told TASS on Friday.

"The gas hub is one of the top priorities for the new Turkish Cabinet of Ministers. It is important. As the Russian side recently stated, the project's implementation can be accelerated. This is a mutually advantageous strategic project for Turkey and Russia. Both countries have this approach, and there is political will to develop it," the source said.

The source was unable to provide more realistic estimates of the project’s timing. "This is still being decided at the level of the two countries' leaders. However, there are certain intricacies in how to legally arrange the hub's operation, what energy companies should be connected to it, and how to control cooperation. This includes the Turkish domestic market. So, it is yet unclear whether it will be the end of this year or the start of the next year," he said.

In October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin put forward an idea of creating a gas hub in Turkey, where the lost volume of transit via the Nord Stream pipeline could be redirected. Turkey showed positive attitude towards this initiative and initiated the procedure of making legislative changes to provide for the legal base of hub operations. The gas trading center is planned to be set up in Thrace, northwest Turkey.