Putin proposes "gas hub" plan to Turkey's Erdogan

Astana [Kazakhstan], October 13 (ANI): Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested a "gas hub" plan to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and added that if Turkey is interested then they would consider its feasibility.
"If there is interest from Turkey and our potential buyers from other countries, we could consider the possibility of building another gas pipeline system and creating a gas hub in Turkey to sell to other countries -- to third countries, primarily, of course; the European ones, if they are interested," Putin said on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia summit in Astana in Kazakhstan according to CNN.
Putin further added that if the proposal goes ahead then it will not only be the platform of supply but will also determine prices. "These prices are outrageous today. We could calmly regulate [them] at a normal market level without any political overtones," he said.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Putin mentioned the prospect of a gas hub based in Turkey during Russia's energy summit in Moscow, saying Russia could redirect supplies intended for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea to create it, reported CNN.
"We could move the lost volumes from the Nord Streams along the bottom of the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea region and thus make the main routes for the supply of our fuel, our natural gas to Europe through Turkey, creating the largest gas hub for Europe in Turkey," Putin said. "That is, of course, if our partners are interested in this. And economic feasibility, of course."
Meanwhile, at the CICA summit, Putin said that Afghanistan remains one of the biggest security challenges in Asia and insisted on using the resources of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and its regional anti-terrorist body to normalise the situation in the country.
Putin made the remarks during the 6th summit of the CICA which is taking place in Astana, Kazakhstan.
He also invited all the Asian countries to engage in closer cooperation with the International Counter-Terrorist Data Bank which is established at Russia's initiative at the CICA Summit, the official statement of the President of Russia stated.
The Russian President also took a sharp dig at US's withdrawal from Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover and said that Afghanistan was unable to independently deal with the terrorist threat even after 20 years of the presence of the US and NATO as blasts continue to take place in the war-torn nation, the recent one being the blast outside the Russian Embassy in Kabul on September 5, the official statement added.
He further called the presence of the US and NATO in Afghanistan a failing policy.
Underlining that Russia was a founding country of the CICA Business Council, Putin said that the country is working hard together with other Asian counties to create a system of equal and indivisible security based on the universally recognised principles of international law and the UN Charter.
Calling Russian countries drivers of economic growth, the Russian President underlined the commitment to the development and prosperity of Asia, to create an open trade and investment cooperation space and broadening and deepening cooperation ties in various economic sectors, the statement said.
CICA is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. It is a forum based on the recognition that there is a close link between peace, security and stability in Asia and the rest of the world.
With 27 member states and about half the population our the planet, CICA is the largest regional intergovernmental forum in Asia for enhancing cooperation towards promoting, peace, security and stability in Asia. (ANI)