ISTANBUL, July 31. /TASS/. The creation of a gas hub in Turkey will ensure the security of energy carriers’ supplies to European countries, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday.

"The gas that is to be supplied to Turkey [as part of the hub project] will make a very important contribution to ensuring the security of energy carriers’ supplies, especially for Southeast Europe. Such energy cooperation contributes to the settlement of regional conflicts in the long term," the minister said on the TV channel A haber.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that the creation of a gas hub on the Turkish territory remains on the agenda. According to him, the project involves the creation of an electronic trading platform for gas supplies to Europe, given the growing role of Turkey as a gas transit country to the continent.

In October 2022, Putin proposed creating the largest gas hub in Europe in Turkey and redirecting the volume of gas, the transit of which is no longer possible through the Nord Stream, to this hub.

The Turkish side noted that almost everything is ready in terms of infrastructure for the implementation of the hub project, but it is necessary to amend the legislation. The first legislative decisions were made in early April. They concerned the activities of Turkey's oil and gas company Botas, as well as a number of other suppliers.