Dmitry Bilichevsky, head of the Economic Cooperation Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said earlier that the parameters of the Turkish gas hub project are still under discussion, including at a high level.

Asked if the project was "moving," the source said: "Discussions are ongoing. We are very interested in this project."

CNN Turk quoted sources as saying that Turkish-Russian energy projects, especially the gas hub project, may be discussed during the talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Turkish gas hub was first discussed in October 2022, when two weeks after the explosion of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the loss of Russian gas delivery could be transferred to the Black Sea region.

He pointed to the possibility of establishing a gas center in Turkey, which could become a platform for the supply of gas to other countries, first and foremost European countries.

Turkey responded positively to the proposal to build a gas hub, and the two heads of state instructed relevant authorities to start relevant work. Europe, however, is not enthusiastic about the proposal. Western media reported that it "doesn't make any sense" to build infrastructure to import more Russian gas, and the European Commission said the EU was seeking to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Active negotiations on the project were suspended after a devastating earthquake in southeastern Turkey. Editor/Xu Shengpeng