Is A De Facto Russia - Turkey Alliance Taking Shape?

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during their meeting on sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit, in Astana, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) 

Reuters: Turkey Backs Putin Gas Plan as Nord Stream Faces Long Outage 

LONDON (Reuters) - Large sections of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines built to supply gas to Europe might need to be replaced, the head of Gazprom said, while Turkey on Friday backed Russian proposals to build a gas hub there as an alternative supply route. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin this week proposed Turkey as a base for gas supplies after the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were damaged last month by blasts. 

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

Major EU importers such as Germany and Italy have found alterative sources and built up gas stocks ahead of a winter that is likely to be tough because of sky-high energy prices and the fear of rationing and power cuts.  

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Update: 'No Waiting': Turkey, Russia to Act on Putin's Gas Hub Offer (AP)  

WNU Editor: Erdogan's language in supporting Putin's offer of becoming a gas hub is shocking. Complete support of the gas hub, and praise of Putin. To say that the EU and the US are probably furious is an understatement. 

A major geopolitical shift has just occurred and I will not be surprised if in the coming months there is going to be a push from the West to punish Turkey and to support those who oppose Erdogan in Turkey. 

So what does this all mean.

 My gut tells me that Erdogan has made the calculation that when the Russia - Ukraine war is over, Russia will be on top. He appears to be someone who wants to make sure that Turkey is well positioned to take advantage of its relationship with Russia if that finally occurs.