Turkey will continue to procure natural gas from Russia, was the message sent by the country’s Minister of Energy, Alparslan Bayraktar, when asked in a television interview about the agreement with the USA for the purchase of liquefied natural gas LNG. His statements come in the shadow of the urging by American President Donald Trump to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for Ankara to stop buying Russian oil.
Specifically, in an interview with CNN Turk, the Turkish Minister of Energy stated: “We cannot tell our citizens ‘the natural gas is finished’. From the perspective of our supply security, we must have access to these sources without discrimination. We have agreements with Russia. Winter is approaching. We must procure as much natural gas as we can from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.”
Alparslan Bayraktar commented that “Trump essentially wants to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. The negotiations have been going on for a long time.” He observed that “there is a frustration over the fact that this war cannot be stopped,” saying that the American president is asking for Russia’s financial resources to be reduced in order to stop the war.
The Turkish minister pointed out that his country is fourth in natural gas consumption, which it uses in households, industry, and electricity production, and for this reason, it must diversify its supply sources. “We are already taking LNG from the USA,” he stated when asked about the agreement he signed with the American Secretary of Energy to purchase American liquefied natural gas until 2045.
Alparslan Bayraktar further noted: “Our country’s need for natural gas is increasing at an impressive rate. Therefore, from the perspective of our supply security, we absolutely must have access to these sources, without any discrimination, and use them. That is, America knows this need of Turkey’s, so there is no problem at all. Turkey will naturally continue to buy natural gas from Russia as well. After all, there are agreements.”
He also confirmed that the Turkish company BOTAS, which manages the pipelines, is already in negotiations with the Russian side for the renewal of the agreement for the Blue Stream pipeline.
“The criticisms being voiced are completely false and based on incomplete information. Turkey saw the picture in 2016. We are the fourth largest country in consumption (i.e., of natural gas) in Europe. The new agreements we have made aim to diversify natural gas sources. The more sources you have, the greater the security. The diversification strategy is important. Turkey has been implementing this diversification strategy since the 1990s,” he stated.
He also pointed out that “our work on the Black Sea natural gas,” which Turkey produces, continues, with the goal of doubling production in 2026, while in 2028, 16 million…
households to have access to domestically extracted natural gas.
The Turkish Minister of Energy said that another floating drill ship will undertake a mission in the Black Sea, bringing the number of drill ships operating there to five, and only one – Turkey’s sixth floating drill ship – “will drill under the Straits”.
Regarding Turkey’s relations with Russia, he recalled that President Erdoğan recently met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Shanghai. “The issue of natural gas was also discussed during this meeting. The meeting was very friendly and constructive.”
Regarding oil, the Minister of Energy clarified that imports are not made by a public company, like BOTAS is for natural gas, but by private companies and refineries, and the government cannot dictate the commercial policy to private businesses or from where they will procure oil, that is, whether the supplier will be Russia.
Bayraktar also announced that the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is being constructed by Russia, will be connected to the grid in 2026. He also said that Turkey must increase its use of nuclear energy.
During the visit of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the White House, Turkey signed an agreement with the USA for cooperation in the field of small modular reactors for civilian use. “Turkey is moving towards becoming a country that produces such plants on its own,” Alparslan Bayraktar stated to CNN Turk.
Source: APE-MPE
