Turkish and Russian experts discussed details regarding the creation of a gas hub in Türkiye, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said Saturday.
In an interview with the Russian state-run news agency TASS, Syromolotov named energy as "one of the most successful sectors of the Russian-Turkish cooperation," which is developing dynamically and is based on a mutually respectful dialogue.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a leader of "a different caliber" who pursues an independent policy that favors his people and does not take dictation from third countries, the senior diplomat said.
He further said that with joint efforts, the issues related to the construction of the gas hub would be resolved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Türkiye as a base for gas supplies in October after the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged in September by blasts. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says he agrees with the idea.
Türkiye is home to seven international natural gas pipelines, four LNG facilities, and floating storage regasification units (FSRU). In addition, it has the only regional organized natural gas market under its energy exchange market – Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST).
Cybersecurity
Regarding cybersecurity, Syromolotov claimed that the United States issued some "NATO draft rules for waging a cyber war" and "is trying to adapt international law."
According to him, the U.S. "actively recruits" hackers, trains Ukraine's "IT army," and engages its allies' information and communication potentials to attack Russia's IT infrastructure.
Washington also "increases capabilities for global espionage" despite being "caught" using the Pegasus and Graphite spyware programs to hack personal communication devices and computers worldwide.
Syromolotov added that in 2022 Russia faced "an unprecedented" number of external cyberattacks, in total, over 50,000. Most of them were carried out from the territory of the U.S., NATO countries, and Ukraine, and targeted state structures.
The official voiced concern over the work of the Ukrainian information platforms under the guidance of Microsoft and Amazon IT giants.
He said the Recorded Future company, affiliated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), signed an agreement with Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation. As a result, Kyiv joined NATO's center of cyber protection based in Estonia's capital Tallinn.
He added that the U.K. recruits Russian-speaking IT specialists and carries out training on hitting Russian objects of critical information infrastructure.
"In particular, the defeat of state institutions in the Kaliningrad region and the Moscow power system is simulated. In addition, systematic work is underway to promote Russophobia on the internet, to erase the truth about our country's foreign policy in the Western information field," he said.