After Russian dictator Vladimir Putin lost the European gas market for the sale of “blue fuel,” Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to take his place.
Points of attention
- Turkey intends to expand its energy cooperation with the European Union.
- Ankara wants to use the Southern Gas Corridor and increase gas supplies from Azerbaijan to Europe.
- In recent years, energy negotiations between Turkey and the EU have been frozen due to the conflict with Cyprus.
Turkey wants to replace Russia in the EU gas market
As Politico learned, official Ankara intends to become the leading supplier of natural gas to Europe, against the backdrop of the ousting of the aggressor country Russia from this market.
These plans were officially confirmed to journalists by Turkey's Ambassador to the EU, Faruk Kaymakci.
According to the latter, it is energy cooperation that should become a priority on the agenda within the planned "thawing" of relations with the European Union.
"We have the Southern Gas Corridor. We have 18 billion cubic meters of gas, which comes mainly from Azerbaijan — and we can easily expand this by connecting it to Mediterranean gas. Our role is there, our potential is there," the Turkish diplomat emphasized.
Why Turkey Couldn't Implement Its Plans Earlier
Journalists point out that Ankara's energy negotiations with Brussels were frozen 6 years ago.
What is important to understand is that the key reason was the high-profile conflict between Turkey and Cyprus over the rights to drill for gas on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to transiting Azerbaijani gas and exporting its own domestic reserves, Turkey imports fuel from Russia through the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea.
As the publication notes, after the agreement on the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine expired, this underwater connection remained the only route through which Moscow can access the European market.
