Will gas thaw the ice between Russia, Turkey?
Russia’s interest in crucial energy projects with Turkey may facilitate fence-mending between the two countries after months of crisis.
With a nuclear power plant project underway and a new gas pipeline on the table, Turkey and Russia were moving toward a strategic partnership in the energy realm when things changed abruptly in November after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane at the Syrian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was furious. He vowed that Russia would never forget the downing of the jet and the killing of the ejected pilot, that Turkey would regret its action and would not get away with a few economic sanctions and “a tomato ban.”
Following Putin’s threats, Moscow curbed Turkish fruit and vegetable imports, put restrictions on the activities of Turkish business people in Russia and cut the tourist flow to Turkey, leading to a 68% drop in the number of Russian vacationers in the first four months of the year.
Turkey, for its part, slowed down energy projects with Russia. The construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant almost ground to a halt, and a major gas pipeline project, to which Moscow attached much importance, was put on ice. The planned Turkish Stream conduit was to carry 63 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe via Turkey per year.
