Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a new phone conversation with Vladimir Putin on Sunday, with the Kremlin saying they talked about “creating a regional gas hub in Turkey,” Reuters reported.

The Kremlin reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday discussed “joint energy projects”, particularly in the gas sector.

“The leaders of the two countries exchanged views on the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey,” the Kremlin said, according to Reuters.

In turn, Erdogan’s office reported that the Turkish president spoke with Vladimir Putin about the start of exporting other food products and goods through the Black Sea grain corridor.

“Bilateral ties between Ankara and Moscow, as well as energy and the fight against terrorism” were also topics discussed by the two, the Turkish presidency also said.

On Friday, Erdogan announced that he would hold separate phone talks with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Volodymyr Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyi, on Sunday to “consolidate an agreement on grain exports via the Black Sea.”

The European Union is concerned about Turkey’s relations with Russia

The European Union is concerned that Turkey maintains a close partnership with Russia despite the war in Ukraine and tough Western sanctions against Moscow, dpa reports.

The deepening of economic relations between Turkey and Russia is “a cause of great concern,” European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a letter to the European Parliament, German media group Funke reported on Sunday, as cited by Agerpres. Another cause for concern is Turkey’s policy “not to join the EU’s restrictive measures against Russia,” the letter also states.

According to the same report, Borrell stressed that the EU and Turkey are in a customs union that guarantees the free movement of goods, including civilian and military dual-purpose goods. It is important that Turkey does not offer Russia any option to circumvent sanctions, Borrell warned.