The EU warns Turkey that “this is not the time” to increase cooperation with Russia

The European Union (EU) yesterday gave Turkey a wake-up call for its approaches to Moscow, after Ankara announced last week an agreement to redistribute Russian gas to third countries. In the context of the war in Ukraine “and with repeated violations of international law, this is not the time to increase cooperation with Russia,” said European Foreign Affairs spokesman Peter Stano.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reported that he has agreed with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for Turkey to become an exporter of Russian gas through the Turkstream infrastructure, the gas pipeline that connects the two countries. In addition, the leaders are in open negotiations to build a nuclear power plant on the Black Sea coast.

ambiguous position

Since the beginning of the invasion, the EU bloc has formed a united front against the Kremlin and has insisted on the importance of partner countries aligning themselves with the sanctions against Moscow. The message was especially addressed to those candidates to enter the EU such as Ankara, which has been waiting for accession since 1999. The Turkish Government, however, has been characterized by maintaining an ambiguous position with Russia and has not adopted any of the European restrictions against the country.

Tomorrow the bloc’s Enlargement Commissioner, Oliver Varhelyi, will travel to Ankara and will be able to discuss these matters with the Turkish authorities. Meanwhile, the United States has increased pressure against the country, ensuring that it cannot become a “sanctuary” for transactions with the Putin regime, and bypass Western sanctions.