Turkey highlights pipeline security amid regional instability

Turkey faces no problems securing energy supplies as a result of the war with Iran, but the situation remains ‘unstable’, energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.

‘We hope the war will not last long. But the process is under our control at the moment,’ Bayraktar told reporters after Monday’s cabinet meeting. ‘There is no problem or difficulty in energy security,’ he added.

Turkey is a major energy importer, borders Iran and is among the economies vulnerable to rising global energy prices. Bayraktar said the country’s dependence on oil from the Middle East stands at a ‘manageable’ level of ten per cent and that Ankara has taken steps to diversify its sources.

Bayraktar also said he had discussed with Hungary’s foreign minister the issue of safeguarding the TurkStream pipeline, which transports Russian natural gas to southern Europe via the Black Sea and Turkey. He noted that the security of the pipeline in both the Black Sea and on the Turkish side is important.

(reuters, bak)