ISTANBUL 

The trade volume between Türkiye and Russia will exceed $65 billion in 2023, as it did last year, the Russian consul general in Istanbul has told Anadolu.

Andrey Buravov pointed out that the bilateral trade volume posted a 3-fold hike in the last five to six years.

"Regular dialogue between the leaders of the two countries continues. In parallel, regular contacts are made at the level of our economy ministries," he stressed.

Recalling Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to build a natural gas hub in Türkiye, Buravov said the two sides are working on the details.

Meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a regional gathering in Kazakhstan in October 2022, Putin said building a hub in Türkiye would allow, among other things, regulating prices, selling gas at reasonable prices, and ruling out "politicization" of the issue.

Noting that natural gas shipments from Russia continue through various channels, Buravov said: "Finally, gas deliveries are made through the TurkStream gas pipeline in the volume desired by Türkiye and there is potential."

On the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin, southern Türkiye, he said: "Türkiye is not only setting up a new facility, but also a new branch of economy is being created in the country."