Germany’s decision to phase out Russian natural gas imports forced it to choose an alternate supplier. The US and Qatar began exporting gas to the EU’s top economy. This left Russia without a major buyer of its energy, but it seems that another country can take Germany’s place.
According to Volkan Ozdemir, the director of a Turkish think tank ATA Platform, Turkey could replace Germany as a major importer of Russian oil and gas. Ozdemir noted that Ankara did not back anti-Russian sanctions and that the volume of trade between Russia and Turkey had increased. As cooperation between Russia and Turkey intensifies, this outlook may be quite realistic. Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara had taken the first steps in implementing the gas hub project proposed by Vladimir Putin. Turkey is likely to buy Russian natural gas to re-export it to other countries, including Germany.
Volkan Ozdemir noted that Turkey’s export-oriented economy had suffered from the ongoing recession in Europe as Germany remained the main importer of Turkish goods. He stated that Turkey could diversify its economy and begin economic integration with Russia, and noted that such a process had already begun.
