Türkiye rejects US demand to abandon Russian gas

Türkiye has rejected US demands to abandon Russian gas. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said Ankara will continue purchases from all available suppliers, including Moscow.

The remarks followed calls by US President Donald Trump for NATO states to halt Russian oil and gas purchases in exchange for new sanctions on Moscow, pitched as a way to speed up the Ukraine peace process. After meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, Trump suggested that Ankara, a fellow NATO member, would likely comply with his demand.

Bayraktar dismissed the notion, stressing steady supplies were crucial for his country’s energy security.

“We cannot tell our citizens, ‘we have run out of gas.’ To ensure uninterrupted supply, we need to ensure access to these resources without discrimination,” he said. “Türkiye will naturally continue to receive gas from Russia as the agreements are already in place. Winter is coming. We need to get as much gas as possible from Russia.”

He added that Türkiye will keep diversifying suppliers, as well as expanding domestic production. “Türkiye has significant natural gas consumption. A diversification strategy is crucial… The more sources we buy from, the safer it is,” he stated.

Western states have significantly reduced Russian energy imports since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The EU now plans to abandon Russian fossil fuels by 2027, though many states still buy it. Hungary and Slovakia are both major importers of Russian energy, and strongly oppose the phase-out.

Türkiye is not an EU member but remains a key partner and NATO state. It refused to join Western sanctions on Russia in the aftermath of the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. It continued energy imports and maintained close diplomatic ties with Moscow.

Moscow has called restrictions targeting its energy illegal and self-defeating, warning the EU would have to turn to costlier alternatives or indirect imports. Russian officials also view Trump’s push to steer NATO members away from Russian supplies as intended to boost US exports.

“Trump has never hidden his intention to secure US economic interests. The simplest way is to force the entire world to pay more for American oil and LNG,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RBK last week.