Putin says Russia could supply gas to Europe via Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday offered to resume gas supplies to Europe through the intact part of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, creating a European gas hub in Turkey. 

"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 told an energy conference in Moscow.

"The ball is in the EU's court. If they want to, then the taps can be turned on and that's it," he said.

But Germany swiftly ruled out the offer. 

"Regardless of the possible sabotage of the two pipelines, we have seen that Russia is no longer a reliable energy supplier, and that even before the damage to Nord Stream 1 there was no longer any gas flowing,'' German government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters.

Turkey’s energy minister Fatih Donmez, who was also in the same conference with Putin in Moscow said he also heard the suggestion for the first time and it was early for him to make an assessment.

Massive amounts of gas were released into the Baltic Sea after both links of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and one of the two links of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline were ruptured on September 26.

Russia had already halted gas deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in early September, citing technical problems. Nord Stream 2 never became operational as Germany halted its approval after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Apart from being the world's biggest natural gas exporter, Russia is the second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and a member of the OPEC+ producer group that last week decided to cut output.