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Putin: Gas Hub on Turkey-Greece Border is in EU’s Hands

© Sputnik / Vladimir Astapkovich / Go to the mediabankTenth annual major news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin
Tenth annual major news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin - Sputnik International
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Although the European Commission forced Russia to cancel its major South Stream project, Moscow is ready for cooperation. Russia remains the EU's reliable partner and cheap gas supplier, Vladimir Putin underscored.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual end-of-year news conference in Moscow - Sputnik International
Russia
Putin: Creation of Gas Hub on Turkey-Greece Border Depends on EU
MOSCOW, December 18 (Sputnik) — After the scrapping of the much-debated South Stream pipeline, it is up to the European Union to decide on the implementation of Russia’s new plan to create a gas hub on the Turkey-Greece border, and Europe has no better gas supplier than Russia as of today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

“Is the so-called European hub on the Turkey-Greece border possible? This does not depend on us. It depends mostly on our European partners,” the president said during his annual end-of-year press conference.

After much opposition from the European Commission, the Russian president announced the termination of Russia’s South Stream pipeline project on December 1. The main aim of the pipeline was to deliver Russian natural gas to a number of European countries via a new route under the Black Sea, bypassing Ukraine.

According to the Commission, the now abandoned project was in breach of EU’s Third Energy Package, which forbids gas producers from owning the pipelines through which it flows.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual news conference in Moscow - Sputnik International
Russia
Putin: Russia Is Europe’s Only Reliable Supplier of Cheap Gas
Shortly after the announcement, Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that an alternative gas pipeline to Turkey would be constructed. The new pipeline will have an annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters. Some 14 billion cubic meters would go to Turkish consumers, while the rest would be pumped to a hub on the Turkish-Greece border and routed to southern European countries.

It is now up to the European Union to decide if they want to create the hub and ensure “stable, secure and absolutely clear deliveries of energy resources that they need so badly from Russia, without transit risks,” the president said Thursday, reaffirming Russia’s willingness to collaborate in this sphere.

Putin underlined that Europe has no cheaper and more reliable gas supplier than Russia as of today, and this situation is not expected to change in the foreseeable future.

Addressing the gas deal with Turkey, the president stated that “Turkish partners are raising the question to first of all increase the [gas] supplies to the internal Turkish market”. The necessary agreements regarding prices and delivery schedule are already in place, he informed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that gas contract with China will benefit both countries. - Sputnik International
Russia
Putin: Gas Contract With China Beneficial for Both Sides
Turning to the ambitious gas deal with China, signed between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation in May, Putin stated that the agreement has been "undoubtedly profitable" for both sides, despite mutual discounts.

“As for the contract with China, it is not detrimental. I want to stress, both sides agreed to discounts, and this is true,” he stated without specifying the details of the discounts.

The Russian-Chinese gas contract stipulates 30 years of Russian gas deliveries to China through the Power of Siberia pipeline, which is currently under construction. Russia is to deliver of 38 billion cubic meters of gas to China annually, starting 2018.

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