With the Moscow-Ankara talks on their joint Turkish Stream gas pipeline project already suspended, Turkey desperately needs more alternatives to Russian gas supplies, something that Etcheverry said will be a hard nut to crack.
Despite the fact that Turkey has already signed a memorandum on deliveries of Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG), there was no word on the LNG volumes that the Turkish side will purchase, Etcheverry said, adding that the LNG is much more expensive than regular natural gas.
#Turkey expects to receive a discount on gas from #Russia Most likely a halt 😂 Via @nnr_news https://t.co/Db3nc4AKyh pic.twitter.com/8oAwpSVgNj
— Enrico Ivanov (@Russ_Warrior) 17 декабря 2015
As for the Azerbaijani gas pipeline project, it stipulates supplying six billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey annually, while Russian gas deliveries to the country stand at 27 billion cubic meters per year, Etcheverry recalled.
Israel could become another "alternative" gas supplier for Turkey, which was confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.Although Ankara and Tel Aviv have reportedly been discussing the issue, no concrete figures have been announced, according to Etcheverry.
#Russia president #Putin says Turkish stream stalled over lack of commitment from the #EU
— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) 17 декабря 2015
He said that the Russian energy giant Gazprom is not going to leave the Turkish market, the company's second-largest in Europe. Etcheverry recalled that this year, Russia supplied hydrocarbons to Turkey worth 16.5 billion dollars.
#Putin on the Turkish stream project: The future of the project doesn't depend entirely on us. We need guarantees from our European partners
— Russia Direct (@Russia_Direct) 17 декабря 2015
Relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated significantly after a Russian Su-24 bomber was brought down over Syria on November 24 by an air-to-air missile fired from a Turkish F-16 in response to an alleged violation of Turkish airspace. Both Russian and Syrian defense officials have confirmed that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace.
