BRUSSELS — Turkey will not support the EU’s plan to ditch Russian gas imports, threatening Brussels’ efforts to kick the bloc’s remaining reliance on Moscow’s energy.
Sitting at the EU’s border, Turkey has long served as a conduit for Russian energy heading to Europe. But that connection is now under scrutiny after a recent EU proposal to eliminate all Russian gas imports by the end of 2027.
To execute its plan, Brussels wants to impose more monitoring requirements to better gauge how and where Moscow’s gas continues to enter the bloc. To work, however, the EU will likely need information from key transit countries like Turkey. And Ankara isn’t interested.
“While the EU may or may not decide to totally ban the import of Russian gas, Türkiye is of the view that unilateral sanctions risk disrupting economies and heightening energy security concerns for all,” Ankara’s foreign ministry said in a statement to POLITICO. “Türkiye implements only those sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council.”
