Türkiye has started paying for some of its natural gas from Russia in rubles, Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said Tuesday.

In an interview with public broadcaster TRT Haber, Dönmez said that in the coming months the share of local currency payments in energy trade with Russia would increase.

Russia, hit by Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, is increasingly asking buyers of its energy to pay in rubles to help bolster its currency. Most international energy deals are settled in U.S. dollars or euros.

Türkiye is also trying to boost trade using the lira and has been calling for an expansion of goods exchange in national currencies with its major trade partners, including Russia.

Ankara and Moscow agreed in September to start ruble payments for natural gas supplies.

When asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for a natural gas hub in Türkiye, Dönmez said Ankara would lay out a road map by the end of this year and may hold a conference for suppliers and buyers.

"We could organize an international gas conference, perhaps in January or February, to bring together gas suppliers and importer countries to take their opinion, we will proceed according to that," Dönmez said.

Last month, Putin proposed Türkiye as a base for gas supplies as an alternative route after the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged by blasts. Erdoğan said he agreed with the idea.

The European Union, which previously relied on Russia for about 40% of its gas needs, is seeking to wean itself off Russian energy following the invasion of Ukraine in February.