Russia expects to reach an agreement soon on a planned natural gas hub in Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said.

A Turkish delegation is due to hold consultations with Russian gas producer Gazprom PJSC in St. Petersburg, Novak said on Saturday during a visit to Ankara.

“I am sure we will reach agreements in the near future on the practical implementation of this project,” Novak said in televised remarks.

Russia has been forging closer energy, political and economic ties with Turkey after relations with the European Union deteriorated sharply following its war in Ukraine. Last year, President Vladimir Putin laid out plans to establish a gas-trading hub in Turkey, including the possibility of laying more undersea natural gas pipelines across the Black Sea. The new conduits could become Russia’s main gas-export route for Europe, Putin said at the time.

The setting up of an electronic gas-trading platform in Turkey could be the first step toward the creation of a gas hub there, Putin said in October. However, the timing of the project has been unclear with him initially suggesting it was a matter of months and Turkey’s Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar saying in recent weeks that it would likely happen in 2024.

Talks had stalled after deadly earthquakes hit Turkey in February, followed by an election in the country in May.

Ankara has been a relatively close ally of Moscow as many Western countries have shunned Russian trade following the invasion of Ukraine. In the energy industry, the two countries are already cooperating on construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power station in southern Turkey, with a budget of some $20 billion.