Turkey has doubled its imports of Russian oil since the start of 2022, new data showed on Monday, as Moscow and Ankara appear to be strengthening their energy cooperation after the West imposed sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported.
Trade between Turkey and Russia has exploded since this spring because, unlike the European Union and other NATO partners, Ankara did not impose sanctions on Russia and its economy because of the “special military operation” that Vladimir Putin ordered on February 24.
Turkey increased its imports of Russian oil to more than 200,000 barrels per day, compared to just 98,000 barrels for the same period in 2021. Ankara says it does not impose sanctions against Russia because it depends on the country’s energy imports.
President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met earlier in August, announcing that they had agreed to deepen economic cooperation between their countries.
New data released on Monday showed that Turkey’s main refiners were among the beneficiaries of increased imports of Russian oil from Siberia and the Ural Mountains, while oil purchases from the North Sea, Iraq and West Africa fell.
Russian oil, the “obvious choice” for Turkey
“The choice of Turkish refiners was obvious because they have no restrictions on buying Russian oil,” a Reuters analyst said, adding that the profits of Turkish importing companies are supported by oil produced in the Urals region.
In early August, President Recep Erdogan also announced that Ankara would pay for Russian natural gas imports in rubles, even though Turkey is not on the list of “unfriendly countries” that Gazprom is asking to do so at the behest of President Vladimir Putin.
“A positive moment of our visit to Sochi is our agreement with Mr. Putin regarding the ruble. God willing, our ruble exchange will benefit Turkey and Russia,” Erdogan said after returning from Sochi, the Black Sea resort where he met with the Kremlin leader.
In early June, the European Union imposed an embargo on Russian oil as part of a new package of sanctions aimed at reducing funding for the Russian military machine.
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Source: Hot News RO
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