Buravov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Istanbul, stated that Russia and Turkiye are currently negotiating to establish a large natural gas center in Turkiye.
Andrey Buravov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Istanbul, stated that agreements and projects in the field of energy are the flagship and basis of Russian-Turkish cooperation, and stated that Russia and Turkiye are currently negotiating to establish a large natural gas center in Turkiye.
In his statement to the AA correspondent, Buravov said that ensuring national, regional and Pan-European energy security is the most important element with the natural gas center project.
Underlining that agreements and projects in the field of energy are the flagship and basis of Russian-Turkish cooperation, Buravov said:
“It can be said that the implementation of current projects (Turkish Stream, Akkuyu nuclear power plant) is a clear example of mutually beneficial cooperation in a win-win manner. Russia is a reliable energy producer, Turkiye is a reliable energy consumer, and Turkiye has the opportunity to strengthen its role as a major energy hub. Both projects in question meet the highest environmental and technological norms and standards, and Russia and Turkiye are currently discussing the project of establishing a large natural gas hub in Turkiye.”
“In general, the dynamics of trade flows between Russia and Turkiye can be described as sustainable.” Buravov continued:
“Starting from 2017, if we exclude Covid 2020, you will see that the trade volume has grown steadily. It was $22.3 billion in 2017, $25.4 billion in 2018, $26.3 billion in 2019, $32.9 billion in 2021 and $65 billion last year. According to the results of the first half of the current year 2023, our mutual trade has reached $28.3 billion. However, the general trend of recent years shows the sustainability of our trade and economic relations and that there is still significant potential for their growth.”
Buravov noted that his contacts with Turkish exporters’ associations confirmed the existence of substitution of a wide range of goods imported by Russia with products of Turkish manufacturers.
“3.5 million tourists came from Russia between January and July”
Stating that, based on the data of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 3.5 million tourists from Russia came to Turkiye in the January-July period of this year, Buravov said, “This figure is 1 million 300 thousand more than the same period last year. This is also the largest number among all foreign countries. Russian tourists constitute more than 13% of the total tourist flow to Turkiye.”
Buravov stated that the direction of potential cooperation between Russia and Turkiye is very diverse and concluded his words as follows:
“New forms of cooperation are emerging before our eyes, and joint working directions are being determined in various fields. The main element of maintaining and expanding cooperation is a constant dialogue both at the government level and between business circles, therefore, Russian-Turkish government institutions are working on the development and realization of new joint projects and activities.”
Source: AA / Prepared by Irem Yildiz