Kılıçdaroğlu Calls Gas Hub a Threat to Turkey

The opposition candidate for the presidency in Turkey, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, stated in an interview on Wednesday that the idea of establishing a gas hub in Turkey is dangerous for Ankara and threatens the country's energy independence.

"I am not against having good relations with Moscow; on the contrary, certain sectors, such as the petrochemical industry, aluminum, and technological infrastructure have benefited from the Russian Federation. However, I am against Turkey's energy dependency on Russia," Kılıçdaroğlu said while responding to questions from viewers of Babala TV's YouTube channel.

According to him, such dependence is "extremely dangerous" and could create significant problems for Turkey in the future. "You say you have signed a contract with the Russian Federation for the establishment of a gas hub, if now Turkey is 30-40 percent dependent on Russia for energy, then with the creation of the hub, that dependence will rise to 70-80 percent. This is capitulation; we will be defeated," said the candidate.

He considers the solution to the current situation to be selling gas from the Eastern Mediterranean's deposits to European countries at a discount without using the hub.