Erdogan to ask for 25% discount on Russian Gas: Reports
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On the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin for a 25% discount on gas, according to media reports.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will ask Russian President Vladimir Putin for a 25% discount on gas, Bloomberg reported citing a Turkish official.
Erdogan and Putin will meet on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand on Friday.
The report added that Erdogan will request a 25% discount and an agreement allowing Turkey to pay for gas in liras in part.
Earlier today, Turkish broadcaster Haber TV reported that Turkey is negotiating additional gas supplies with Russia, adding that additional volume supplies will begin as soon as the parties agree on a price.
It is worth noting that Turkey has so far completely filled its gas storage facilities in order to avoid problems during the winter, according to the broadcaster.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, on Thursday, that if Turkey requests an increase in energy supplies, Russia will ensure it.
The volume of energy supplies from Russia to Turkey is approximately 26 billion cubic meters of gas per year, according to Novak.
About 25% of Turkey's oil imports are from Russia, and 45% of its natural gas is also from Russia as of last year.
Novak stated in early August that Putin and Erdogan had agreed to begin partial payments in rubles for Russian gas deliveries to Turkey, which is consistent with the Russian gas supply policy.
In mid-August, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez stated that Turkey would pay for natural gas in rubles and was considering paying for some of the transit in Turkish lire, thereby facilitating gas supplies.
Last year, the Turkish government spent tens of billions of dollars trying to support the lira as it steeply declined in the latest economic crisis. The lira has so far lost 55% of its value against the dollar, while consumer prices have soared 80% in the past year.
The United States and the European Union are trying to pressure Russia's customers from switching to ruble payments to limit Moscow's abilities in the war in Ukraine.
