Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ordered his government to start work on an “energy center” proposed by his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to export gas to Europe. A project that says a lot about the convergence of interests between the Turkish rice and the master of the Kremlin.
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Published on 14.10.2022 19:05
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“This project makes no sense,” said the Elysée. The idea of this gas hub seems a bit surprising at a time when European Union countries are doing everything they can to stop their energy imports from Russia and find other sources of supply. Across Turkey, Vladimir Putin is trying to maintain his hold on the gas market, the importance of which is crucial today. You should know that Moscow continues to supply the Turks through the Turkstream gas pipeline, which crosses the Black Sea and which also supplies certain European countries such as Hungary.
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It is worth remembering that Ankara did not participate in the sanctions imposed on Russia by Brussels and Washington. And that’s why he plays his score solo. Beyond energy, Turkey is on track to become a major trading platform with Russia. Trade between countries is booming. Everything goes through a chain of ships on the Black Sea. With Turkey’s economy in dire straits, with an annual inflation rate of 80%, Erdogan understood that it was in his interest to reclaim the energy and commercial spaces left vacant by the Europeans.
Despite the war in Ukraine, the relationship between Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Vladimir Poutie remains solid. Of course, because of a common geography, but also because the two countries deal with many regional problems together: in Syria, Libya or even in the Caucasus with the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
In short, between the two presidents it is a rivalry full of complicity. At the same time, Ankara, as an influential NATO member, reaffirms its support for Ukraine and acts as a mediator. Turkey is the second army of the Transatlantic Alliance. But fundamentally, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan share the same geopolitical approach, that of a muscular defense of their vital interests, even if it means abusing international law.