Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar stated that Russia has always been a very reliable gas supplier to the Turkish market and that Ankara will continue to purchase gas from Moscow. He made the remarks during a meeting with journalists in Istanbul, attended by a TASS correspondent.
"Turkey started buying gas from Russia nearly four decades ago, in the 1980s. Today, Russian gas is used across all of Turkey. Throughout this entire period, Russia has been a very reliable supplier to our market. In some years, its market share was very significant—around 60%; in others, about 55%. Last year it was approximately 40%. Over the last few years, it has decreased to 23–22%," Bayraktar said.
According to him, Turkey will continue to buy gas from Russia and is "open and transparent about this, including with our colleagues in the U.S. and the whole world." "We need gas from Russia, we need gas from Iran, from Azerbaijan. Moreover, gas will come to Turkey from many other sources, including LNG," he added.
Turkey intends to keep purchasing gas from Russia but prefers to sign short-term contracts, Bayraktar noted. "Regarding negotiations with Russia [on gas contracts], I think Botaş is finalizing the current contracts, but the company will continue to buy gas from Gazprom next year as well. We are focusing more on short-term agreements or short-term extensions. And when I say short-term, I mean roughly one year," he explained.
Bayraktar added that Turkey is "seeking affordable, competitive, and reliable gas supply for the Turkish market."
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS