Erdogan: Europe is reaping what it sowed and facing serious problems this winter | Instagram news VTM

Erdogan made his remarks during a press conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, according to Agence France-Presse. He said, “Europe reaps what it sowed.” Whether you like it or not, Europe’s attitude toward Mr. Putin and sanctions prompted him to say, ‘If I do this, I will do it’.

Putin uses all the resources and weapons at his disposal, especially natural gas. We don’t want that, but I think Europe will have serious problems this winter,” he said, noting that Turkey “will not face such problems.”

Thus, Erdogan is following the Russian discourse on the energy crisis. On Monday, the Kremlin said through spokesman Dmitry Peskov that Russia would not resume gas supplies to Europe. As long as the sanctions are not lifted.

The European Union stopped buying coal from Russia and gradually imposed a ban on Russian oil. There are no restrictions yet on the import of natural gas. There, the mass of the country is very dependent on Russia. But because Russia turned off the tap itself, the price of gas exploded. This causes problems for businesses and families, who can no longer afford to pay their high energy bills.

Turkey, for its part, maintains good relations with both Moscow and Kiev. It refused to join Western economic sanctions against Russia. Erdogan announced an agreement in early August for a partial ruble payment for Russian gas supplies to Turkey. In 2021, Russia accounted for about a quarter of Turkey’s oil imports and 45% of its natural gas purchases.