Türkiye postponed an international gas summit scheduled for the next week in Istanbul until late next month, an energy official said Friday, after major earthquakes struck the country's southeastern region.

The summit seeking to assemble gas-supplying countries and Europe's consumer countries was planned to be held Feb. 14-15 but now it has been postponed until March 22, the official told Reuters.

Türkiye had invited energy ministers from the Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, North Africa and the Far East, along with high-level representatives of the public and private sectors and representatives of international energy organizations, to the summit.

Setting up a gas hub in Türkiye was first proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in late October last year after explosions damaged Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea.

Putin suggested developing transshipment and exchange terminals for Russian gas, potentially making Türkiye a significant center for sales of Russian gas to third countries.

Erdoğan backed the idea and the two countries instructed authorities to work on a roadmap, which is expected to be announced soon.

Türkiye currently imports all its gas needs and has extensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) import infrastructure. Ankara believes it can leverage its existing and new trade relations to become a gas hub.

The country also plans to start offshore gas production this year after discovering vast reserves in the Black Sea and ramp up output over the next few years. Separately, the Kremlin said on Thursday that implementing the Turkish hub had been delayed.