turkey seeks alternatives to russian energy after plane crisis
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Turkey seeks alternatives to Russian energy after plane crisis

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Turkey seeks alternatives to Russian energy after plane crisis

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Ankara - AFP

Turkey on Saturday said it was seeking alternatives to Russian energy as relations with Moscow plunge over the downing of a warplane, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing his country will "not collapse" under sanctions.

Moscow has imposed a series of economic sanctions against Ankara after Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian jet on the Syrian border on November 24, sparking the biggest crisis between the two countries since the Cold War.

Turkey says the plane strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, while furious Moscow insists it did not cross from Syria and has accused Ankara of a planned provocation.

Energy-hungry Turkey relies on Russia for 55 percent of its natural gas and 30 percent of its oil, but Erdogan indicated that Ankara is now seeking new suppliers in the wake of the plane crisis.

"It is possible to find different suppliers," Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul, referring to Qatar and Azerbaijan.

The Turkish strongman visited Qatar this week and agreed a liquified natural gas deal, while his Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu travelled to energy-rich Azerbaijan.

Addressing concerns over possible gas shortages, Erdogan said Turkey could turn to its renewable energy resources.

He said Russia had made "no sign" yet that the crisis would affect their energy partnership, including joint work on the Akkuyu nuclear plant in southern Turkey.

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Thursday that talks had been suspended with Ankara on the joint TurkStream project, to pipe gas to Turkey and southern Europe.

But Erdogan dismissed the remark as a "lie", saying that in fact Turkey suspended the project because of Russia's "non-compliance with our demands".

-'We will stand firm'-

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed that Turkey will be made to regret the downing of the plane, with the Kremlin announcing sanctions including a ban on the import of some foods and a halt on sales of holiday packages, a major blow to Turkish tourism.

But experts suggest the initial impact of the sanctions will likely be limited, with Nafez Zouk of Oxford Economics pointing out that only around 4 percent of Turkish imports made it to Russia this year.

Erdogan said Saturday that he does not care whether Russia imports goods from Turkey or not.

"Turkey is not a country which will collapse with your ... one billion dollar imports," he declared.

"We will stand firm."

He pointed out that unlike other countries, Turkey did not launch sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine crisis.

"We continued to export goods. When they asked us why we shipped, we replied that Russia was our strategic partner," Erdogan said.

The president also lashed out at what he said were Moscow's attempts to escalate the crisis.

"We are not speaking with their language now. We are speaking a diplomatic language. We are patient on this issue," he said.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for dialogue with Moscow to "narrow our differences" after meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, in the first high-level contact between the two sides since the plane was shot down.

 

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

turkey seeks alternatives to russian energy after plane crisis turkey seeks alternatives to russian energy after plane crisis



GMT 12:30 2018 Friday ,14 December

Noriaki Kasai: 30 years of World Cup ski-jumping

GMT 12:01 2018 Tuesday ,09 January

Bacteria makes blue jeans green

GMT 22:59 2017 Friday ,02 June

Human Rights Committee calls for investigating

GMT 18:35 2018 Thursday ,25 October

South Sudan frees five political detainees

GMT 06:52 2017 Thursday ,16 February

Infectious Diseases Kill 1,121 in China in January

GMT 08:49 2017 Wednesday ,19 July

French military chief upbraided by Macron quits

GMT 04:48 2017 Thursday ,29 June

570 accidents in Ras Al Khaimah during Eid holiday

GMT 21:31 2017 Monday ,08 May

Exchange rate stable at major Egyptian banks

GMT 08:09 2018 Saturday ,13 January

Marvel creates Chinese superheroes

GMT 08:42 2018 Friday ,12 January

Global shift' as Olympics set up shop

GMT 09:03 2016 Friday ,05 August

UC researchers probe how sunflowers move by clock

GMT 11:50 2011 Wednesday ,22 June

pop-porn will damage a generation of children

GMT 09:20 2017 Monday ,14 August

Meet the Muslim Miss Universe star
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday