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September 6, 2022
15:01 pm
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2 minutes
Ankara – AFP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday blamed Europe’s energy crisis on sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its war once morest Ukraine, an approach identical to that adopted by the Kremlin.
Erdogan maintains good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while trying to remain neutral in the conflict, and provides Ukraine with Turkish-made weapons and combat drones.
He told reporters before leaving for a three-nation tour in the Balkans that European countries had “reaped what they sowed” by imposing economic restrictions on Russia.
“Everyone uses their means and weapons,” he added. Unfortunately, natural gas is one of them.”
Erdogan’s comments match those issued by the Kremlin this week.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed the “sanctions imposed once morest our country” for the halt in Russian gas shipments to Germany via Nord Stream.
Russia contributed regarding half of Turkey’s natural gas purchases last year.
Ankara vowed to move slowly to pay for Russian imports in rubles, during a summit between Erdogan and Putin in Sochi earlier this month.
Analysts believe that the agreement will ensure that Russia continues to supply Turkey with gas through the TurkStream pipeline that runs through the Black Sea.
Erdogan said he did not expect his country to experience any energy shortages this year.
“I think Europe will have problems this winter,” he said. “We don’t have a situation like this.”
The rise in energy prices in the world as a result of the disruption of Russian supplies caused an economic crisis in Turkey, where the annual inflation rate reached 80 percent, while the value of the lira collapsed.
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