Turkmenistan is ready to consider supplying its gas to Turkey today, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, head of Turkmenistan's supreme representative body Khalk Maslakhaty (People's Council), said.
"Turkmenistan" newspaper https://metbugat.gov.tm/newspapers?id=10 wrote on March 17 that the statement was made at a meeting of the Organisation of Turkic States in Ankara, Türkiye.
"We, as Turkic states, having strengthened our legal framework, we will be able to bring Turkmen warmth to every Turkish family by means of diversification policy".
Berdimuhamedov, referring to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, also added that, if necessary, a power transmission line could be laid parallel to the pipeline (through third countries). He did not specify the route.
The gas issue is expected to be discussed during Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov's first visit to Turkey, scheduled for the first half of 2023.
Turkmenistan has the world's fourth-largest reserves of natural gas, and it is home to the largest onshore gas field in the world, Galkynysh.
Experts say a 300-kilometre pipeline across the Caspian Sea could best connect Turkmenistan to the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) - which Azerbaijan now uses to supply gas to Europe.
The project could improve the competitiveness of the SGC and make a significant contribution to the creation of a gas hub in Thrace, Turkey. However, the route is opposed by Russia and Iran, Caspian neighbours, who cite the vulnerability of the sea's ecosystem as an argument.
These two states, which are major players in the gas market, offer Turkmenistan a more modest project - to enter alternative markets through gas exchanges with the same Iran as it has done with Azerbaijan since 2022.
At this stage, Turkmen gas is purchased by China, the main importer, Russia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. In addition to the European direction, Ashgabat promotes the idea of a gas pipeline project to South Asia as a diversification.
Credits: Eziz Boyarov, Ashgabat
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