MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to build a natural gas hub in Türkiye.

Speaking on the sidelines of a regional gathering in Kazakhstan, Putin said building a hub in Türkiye would allow, among other things, regulating prices, selling gas at market prices, "not sky-high," and ruling out "politicization" of the issue.

Meeting with Erdogan during the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia in Astana, he praised Türkiye as "the most reliable partner" for gas deliveries to Europe.

Putin also said the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin, southern Türkiye is going according to the schedule, and it might be able to start operations next year, the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic.

Russia continues gas deliveries via the TurkStream gas pipeline despite attempts to damage it, Putin added.

On the Istanbul grain deal brokered this summer by Türkiye and the UN – designed to avoid an international food crisis – he lamented that "as before, a small share of grain under the grain deal goes to the poorest countries."

The countries receiving Ukrainian grain under the Istanbul deal should be grateful to Erdogan, Putin said.