Turkey is launching a diplomatic effort to restart energy negotiations with the European Union, eyeing the prospect of becoming a major supplier of natural gas, after previous discussions were derailed by tensions with Cyprus.
In comments to POLITICO on Sunday, Turkey’s EU ambassador, Faruk Kaymakcı, said that energy cooperation would be put front and center on its agenda, as part of a planned thawing of relations that will include trade talks and political cooperation on wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
The push comes as EU member countries like Hungary and Slovakia search for alternatives to Russian gas after a transit deal that allowed them to import supplies via Ukraine came to an end at the beginning of the year.
“We have the Southern Gas Corridor,” said Kaymakcı. “We have 18 billion cubic meters of gas, coming mainly from Azerbaijan — and we can easily expand this, connecting it to Mediterranean gas. Our role is there, our potential is there.”
However, high-level talks over energy trade between Turkey and the EU were suspended in 2019, with the bloc’s leaders saying no meetings would be held “for the time being” over a dispute between Ankara and member country Cyprus over gas drilling rights in the Mediterranean.
According to a European Council statement, Turkish companies were looking to extract fossil fuels “within Cypriot territorial waters.” Cyprus and Greece also have hopes of exploiting the lucrative natural resources, but have faced opposition from Turkey.
“Despite this potential, EU-Turkey energy dialogue is blocked because of decisions taken in 2019. We see this as a lose-lose situation,” said Kaymakcı. “Turkey is one of the three or four main energy arteries — whether to use it or not is up to the EU.”
According to him, only Cyprus now remains opposed to restarting dialogue on the issue. “They may not need much energy in the sunny Mediterranean,” the ambassador said, “but most of the member states say they need more energy, more diversification. So it’s only going to continue.”
Power play
As well as transiting Azerbaijani gas and exporting its own domestic reserves, Turkey imports fuel from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea. After the Kremlin’s agreement with Ukraine ended on Jan. 1, the underwater link is the only remaining route for Moscow to ship supplies to Europe.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has had a long-standing ambition to turn his country into a regional “hub” for gas, integrating imports from its neighbors and stepping up extraction in its coastal waters.
“With the Ukraine-Russia deal coming to an end at the start of the year, TurkStream is becoming far more important,” said Kadri Tastan, an energy analyst with the German Marshall Fund in Brussels. “The price of gas is still an issue for the EU and so the Turkish position is becoming much stronger.”
Hungary and Slovakia insist that they stand to lose out as a result of the end of Russian gas flowing through Ukraine, despite the European Commission assessing that it has created no supply problems.
On Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán threatened to block the renewal of the EU’s entire Russia sanctions framework if Kyiv did not agree to restarting the route.
“We’re not going to extend the transit of Russian gas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in December. “We won’t allow them to earn additional billions on our blood.” However, he announced Saturday, Kyiv is open to the prospect of shipping Azerbaijani gas through its pipelines provided Moscow does not profit from it.
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