Russia ready to increase gas supplies to Türkiye, says foreign minister

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said Thursday that it is ready to increase its gas supplies to Türkiye and implement agreements between the two countries on setting up a gas hub.

"For our part, we reaffirmed Russia's commitment to all agreements on increasing natural gas exports, including through the implementation of the initiative of the heads of our states to create a single gas distribution hub in Türkiye," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Moscow.

Lavrov said Fidan and he also discussed a proposal by Moscow to deliver up to 1 million tons of Russian grain to Türkiye at a reduced price.

"This issue is also being discussed with the participation of our friends from Qatar, who are ready to participate in the financial aspects of this initiative," Lavrov said.

Lavrov also touched on the topic of Ukraine, saying Fidan and he discussed the situation in Ukraine, during which he reaffirmed Russia's position ruling out a peace formula by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy's formula, which consists of 10 conditions, was laid out at the latest G-20 summit in Indonesia, with its final step being signing a peace accord. It also focuses on issues such as nuclear safety and food and energy security.