Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar.© Getty Images/Anadol
Turkey rejected the US's demands to abandon Russian gas.Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, announced that Ankara would proceed buying from all available suppliers, including Moscow.
This message was a consequence of U.S. president Donald Trump's appeal to NATO states to halt purchases of Russian oil and gas in exchange for fresh sanctions against Moscow, presented as a way to accelerate the peace process in Ukraine.After gathering Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week, Trump suggested that Ankara, a NATO member, would most likely meet his demand.Bayraktar rejected this suggestion, stressing that unchangeable supplies are crucial to the energy safety of his country.“We cannot say to our citizens: “we are out of gas”. In order to guarantee uninterrupted supply, we must guarantee access to these resources without discrimination" – he said.
"Turkey will, of course, proceed to receive gas from Russia due to the fact that the agreements are already in force. Winter's coming. We must bring as much gas from Russia as possible".He added that Turkey would proceed to diversify suppliers and increase home production.
‘Turkey has a crucial consumption of natural gas. The diversification strategy is crucial... The more sources we buy, the safer” He said.Western countries have importantly reduced Russian energy imports since the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022.
The EU is presently planning to abandon Russian fossil fuels by 2027, although many countries are inactive buying them.
Hungary and Slovakia are the main importers of Russian energy and powerfully argue its gradual withdrawal.Turkey is not a associate of the EU, but remains a key partner and associate of NATO.
She refused to join Western sanctions against Russia following the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
It continued to import energy and maintained close diplomatic relations with Moscow.Moscow called the restrictions imposed on its energy supply illegal and suicidal, informing that the EU would gotta scope for more costly alternatives or indirect imports.
Russian officials besides see Trump's actions to distract NATO members from supplies from Russia as aimed at expanding US exports."Trump never hid his intention to safeguard American economical interests.
The simplest way is to force the full planet to pay more for American oil and LNG” said the spokesperson for the Kremlin Dmitri Dobkov last week.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/news/625847-turkiye-russian-energy-trump/
