Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed as Russia's most dependable gas partner following Germany's decision to partially reduce its import of Russian gas, as reported by TASS on February 18th, citing an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel's Pavel Zarubin, published on the journalist's Telegram channel.
Putin emphasized Türkiye's significance, noting, "Türkiye emerged as the most reliable partner as gas is supplied to Europe via TurkStream."
The Russian leader is set to visit Türkiye in the upcoming weeks for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan. Originally planned for February 12th, the visit was postponed at the request of the Russian side due to elections in both countries, diplomatic sources revealed.
TurkStream, commencing on the Russian coast, traverses over 930 kilometers through the Black Sea before reaching the Thrace region of Türkiye. This pipeline directly links Russia's vast gas reserves to Türkiye's gas network, providing energy to Türkiye, as well as southern and southeastern Europe.
The offshore segment of TurkStream consists of two parallel lines beneath the Black Sea, with pipelines entering from the Russian coast and resurfacing on the Turkish coast in Thrace. Remarkably, TurkStream employs pipes with an 81-centimeter diameter laid at depths exceeding 2 kilometers, boasting a transport capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters annually.
According to the latest data from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK), Türkiye imported 4.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas in November 2023, marking a 7.5 percent increase from the previous year. Russia remained the largest supplier, accounting for nearly 52 percent of Türkiye's natural gas imports in November, followed by Azerbaijan and Iran.
However, Türkiye's natural gas exports experienced a 9 percent decline in the first 11 months of the previous year compared to the same period in 2022, totaling 44.4 billion cubic meters.
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