Broken Dreams: This is How Russia Ruins Erdogan’s Energy Plan

Moscow’s responsive measures toward Ankara have dealt a heavy blow to the Turkish economy. What is more, Russia’s military success in Syria risks ruining the entire Turkish energy industry.

On November 24, 2015 a Turkish jet downed a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria. Relations between Turkey and Russia deeply deteriorated which has seriously damaged the Turkish economy due to Russian sanctions.

Turkey has been extremely dependent on Russian natural gas and oil since 2002. At the same time, the Turkish government ignored the fact that Ankara had poor economic ties with other countries, the website Oilprice reported.

In a bid to cut its energy reliance on Russia, Turkey signed a gas pipeline agreement with Qatar. Turkey is taking the risk because the pipeline is expected to run via Syria, Iraq and Kurdish territories.

Turkey hopes that Damascus and the Kurds will be defeated in the Syrian conflict and the balance of power in the region will shift. Moreover, in order to achieve its goal, Ankara strengthened ties with extremist groups, including Daesh, according to the article.

However, after Russia successfully ended its aerial operation in Syria, Islamist groups have been losing ground across Syria while the positions of the Syrian government and Kurds have strengthened. 

Russia’s involvement in the region shattered Erdogan’s fragile energy plans.

"Russia’s intervention in Syria not only served to strengthen the Assad regime and weaken the Islamist extremist groups, but also challenged Turkish security and energy policies," the article concluded.