Turkey is not capable of giving up Russian gas supplies in the short term, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday in an interview with Ahaber TV channel.
"No, this is not possible in the short term," the minister responded to a reporter's question about whether Turkey will be able to find alternatives to Russian gas in the near future, such as from Iraq, Azerbaijan or Israel.
Meanwhile, Cavusoglu said that Ankara is considering ways to reduce its energy dependence on other countries. "Turkey will reach an important point in this matter when natural gas from the Sakarya field [in the Black Sea] will reach the domestic market in 2023," he explained.
Turkish authorities do not expect problems with natural gas supplies from Russia, as Ankara has not joined sanctions against Moscow, Cavusoglu said.
"There will be no problems with supplies, as we have not imposed sanctions. We buy 40 percent of the gas we need from Russia," he responded to a journalist's question about whether Turkey would face difficulties with Russian gas supplies.
In addition, the Turkish foreign minister announced his visit with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez to Israel and Palestine. "We had planned our visit in April, but it was postponed until May," Cavusoglu added.
On February 24, the Russian president announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow's plans do not include the occupation of Ukrainian territories; the goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The West responded by imposing large-scale sanctions on Russia.
In response to such actions, Putin instructed to transfer payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries to rubles. He said that Moscow would refuse to accept payments for contracts in compromised currencies, including dollars and euros, and ordered the government to instruct Gazprom to make the necessary changes to existing contracts.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS