Invest News DetailDunya - Türkiye could replace Ukraine as the main energy transport corridor for Russian natural gas supplied to Europe, according to the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Moscow Times reported that, during a gathering late last week with academics, experts and reporters at the Valdai International Discussion Club, a group which meets annually to discuss Russia's position in the world, Putin said they could consider transporting natural gas to Europe via Türkiye, bypassing Ukraine. Putin's remarks came on the heels of a meeting last month with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara where the two signed a deal to build part of the South Stream pipeline through Turkish territorial waters in the Black Sea, weeks after Türkiye signed a preliminary agreement with European Union countries to launch construction of the Nabucco natural gas pipeline, which is expected to reduce EU dependence on Russia for energy. Türkiye declared South Stream and Nabucco, which will carry Caucasus and Central Asian natural gas, to be complementary, not rival, projects. Some 80 percent of Russia's natural gas supply to Europe runs through Ukraine. Having faced difficulties in its gas transportation to Europe due to political and economic problems with Ukraine, Russia has sought ways to diversify its energy routes.