Turkey’s Minister of Energy, Alparslan Bayraktar, has confirmed the country’s intention to continue purchasing natural gas from the Russian Federation. In his interview with CNN Turk, he explained that ensuring the energy security of citizens is a priority for the government.
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“We cannot tell our citizens: ‘The gas has run out.’ We need access to these resources without compromising energy supply security. (…) We need to buy gas that we can obtain from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan. We are also continuing to extract gas in the Black Sea,” Bayraktar said on Thursday in an interview with CNN Turk.
Strategic Importance of Gas Imports
According to Bayraktar, Turkey has signed long-term contracts for gas supply with Russia, which is particularly important ahead of the winter period when demand for energy resources increases. He emphasized that alternative sources, including supplies from Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, as well as domestic extraction in the Black Sea, complement the country’s energy balance.
The Turkish Stream Pipeline and the International Situation
Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on October 10, 2016, for gas supply through the Turkish Stream pipeline, which runs along the bottom of the Black Sea from the Anapa region to the European part of Turkey. Supplies of blue fuel through this route began in January 2020, allowing the country to diversify its energy resource channels.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump expressed his desire during a meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on September 25 for Ankara to refrain from purchasing Russian energy resources while the war in Ukraine continues. However, Turkish authorities currently do not plan to abandon cooperation with Russia in the energy sector.