Winter is approaching and at the time of the deadly dispute between Russia and Ukraine the Russian threat to halt gas supply to Europe is plaguing Western countries (“Putin courts Erdogan with plan to pump more Russian gas via Turkey,” Oct. 15, Gulf Today website).

Russia is under huge sanctions by the United States of America and it makes the situation more dangerous. According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday that Moscow could export more gas via Turkey and turn it into a new supply “hub”, bidding to preserve Russia’s energy leverage over Europe.

At a meeting in Kazakhstan, Putin said Turkey offered the most reliable route to deliver gas to the European Union, and the proposed platform would allow prices to be set without politics.

Russia is looking to redirect supplies away from the Nord Stream Baltic gas pipelines, damaged in explosions last month that are still under investigation. Russia blamed the West, without providing evidence, and rejected what it called “stupid” assertions that it had sabotaged the pipelines itself. It’s so important for the European countries to remain gas supply uninterrupted because the winter will be disastrous for Western countries if there is shortage of gas supply.

Russia is under huge international sanctions due to its stance over Ukraine and in retaliation for the sanctions Russia has already threatened to stop supplying gas to the European countries.

At the time of the tense situation the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and a proposal tabled by the Russian President Vladimir Putin is a great opportunity for Turkey as well as European countries to avoid gas shortage in the winter season.

Sharjeel Soomro,
By email