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Political pressure: The United States is increasing pressure on Turkey over Russian energy resources
The United States is increasing pressure on Turkey over purchases of Russian oil and gas, the Russian Embassy in Ankara told Izvestia. Washington is increasingly encouraging its allies to reduce or even completely curtail energy cooperation with Moscow. At the same time, Russia accounts for up to 47% of oil supplies to the country, and gas provides about 50% of the republic's needs. Against this background, it is reported that the share of Russian oil in supplies to Turkey is decreasing. However, according to experts, there is no talk of a real reduction in purchases.
The United States is putting pressure on Turkey
Washington uses sanctions against the Russian energy sector and tariff measures against Moscow's trading partners. Among them is Turkey, which is one of the three largest buyers of oil from Russia after China and India. Therefore, Ankara could not help but come under attack.
"Pressure on the Republic of Turkey from the United States on this issue is, of course, steadily increasing, since in the West, where the ideas of neocolonialism are popular, imposing one's will on other countries is in the order of things," the Russian Embassy in Ankara told Izvestia.
The American side has repeatedly called on Ankara to reduce or completely terminate energy cooperation with the Russian Federation. On November 11, at a meeting in Washington, US Vice President Jay Dee Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked all NATO countries, including Turkey, to completely abandon purchases of Russian energy resources.
— There have been and will be such attempts to limit cooperation between Russia and Turkey. They bear all the signs of unfair competition," the Russian diplomats stressed. — Moscow and Ankara are in constant contact on a wide range of topics, including, of course, issues of energy cooperation. And this is not only oil, but also gas supplies, and the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin province. We are grateful to our partners for their constructive approach.
The official position of the United States is as follows: the large proceeds from the sale of energy resources allows Moscow to continue fighting. But at the same time, the United States pursues rather an economic interest. Washington, according to some reports, provides about 10% of gas supplies to the country — about 5 million tons (approximately 6.8 billion cubic meters m) liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the price per 1,000 cubic meters reaches $270. At the same time, according to the press, Turkey is seeking a discount of more than 25% from Gazprom on energy supplies. A number of analysts explicitly write that Ankara can get a gas price of about $230 per 1,000 cubic meters.
According to media reports, even Donald Trump made it clear at a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan that if Ankara refuses to buy energy resources from Russia, Washington is ready to consider supplying Turkey with F-35 fighter jets. The White House had previously blocked their transfer due to Ankara's purchases of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft systems. It is significant that the Turkish side is no longer showing such keen interest in military-technical cooperation with the United States as in 2018-2019, Yuri Mavashev, a lecturer at the Department of World Politics and World Economy at the RANEPA Institute of Management, said in an interview with Izvestia.
As reported in the media back in early November, Moscow and Ankara are negotiating the extension of the largest gas supply contracts, which expire at the end of the year.
Russia has already secured its status as a reliable supplier in the Turkish market, and Ankara understands this well, the Russian Embassy noted. They expressed the hope that common sense and the logic of market relations would eventually prevail over the political situation regarding oil supplies.
This line is also confirmed by Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar.
— We have been buying gas from Russia since the 80s of the XX century, Moscow has always been and remains a reliable supplier. Supplies from Russia cover about 40-50% of our needs. There is no reason to worry, we continue to import gas from Russia," the official said earlier.
The importance of Russian supplies for Turkey
For Turkey, energy supplies from Russia are a matter of competitive advantage, Vasily Koltashov, an economist and director of the New Society Institute, told Izvestia.
— For the Turkish leaders, this is not a question of liking or disliking Russia, but a question of whether they will lose or benefit from cooperation. The Turks traditionally want to win, that is, to continue cooperation, since Ankara is governed by an administration independent of the West and that is why it has not stopped trading with Russia," he said.
At the same time, in November it was reported that after the introduction of new sanctions against the Russian Federation, the Turkish STAR and Turkish oil refineries began to actively increase purchases of oil from Iraq, Kazakhstan and other countries. In December, Turkey is expected to receive four shipments totaling from 77 to 129 thousand barrels per day. At the same time, in September and October, almost the entire volume of STAR raw materials — about 210 thousand barrels per day — was accounted for by our oil.
Currently, oil and petroleum products enter the republic mainly by sea from the Russian Black Sea ports. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), diesel fuel from the Russian Federation is imported to Turkey by tankers from Novorossiysk, Tuapse and Taman; the same routes are used for part of the supply of Urals grade and other brands of crude oil. Tanker shipments are unloaded at Turkish ports and terminals, from where the raw materials arrive at the Tüpraş and STAR refineries or are re-exported.
According to open data, in January – October 2025, Turkey imported an average of about 669 thousand barrels of oil per day, of which 317 thousand barrels, or about 47%— accounted for the Russian Federation.
The reduction in supplies, if it happens, will be more nominal than real, Vasily Koltashov emphasized. According to him, the West is exerting similar pressure on many Eastern players on the issue of sanctions against Russia: for example, Indian refinery managers have already announced the termination of purchases of Russian oil, but in practice this did not correspond to reality.
— In the case of India, Western journalists asked questions and got the answers they wanted. And the same thing will happen with Turkey: Ankara will announce a reduction, conditionally, by 20% of purchases from Russia, but in fact it will not even be a reduction," Vasily Koltashov clarified.
If we talk about gas supplies carried out through the Blue Stream and TurkStream gas pipelines, in 2024 Turkey imported about 52 billion cubic meters of gas, of which 42% came from the Russian Federation, the InstituTE's study reported. In the same year, gas accounted for approximately 18.5% of electricity generation, meaning that a significant share of the energy sector directly depends on imported fuel supplies, where the Russian Federation occupies the main place.
Prospects for trade with Turkey should also be sought in the export of Russian grain, Yuri Mavashev added. According to his estimates, a drought is expected in the republic in 2026, against which supplies from the Russian Federation may double to 7.3 million tons.
"A reduction in grain stocks, in turn, will lead to higher food prices and increased hyperinflation, which reached 35% in October 2025," the expert noted.
The economic situation in Turkey is difficult, Vasily Koltashov confirmed. If President Recep Tayyip Erdogan succumbs to Western pressure, then "everything will get even worse for him inside the country," the source is sure.
— For the Turkish leadership on the issue of energy, the price of a mistake is very high, they cannot afford it. Ankara may offer Moscow a new grain deal or something else, trying to act in the interests of the West, but it will not directly damage its economy by rejecting Russian energy resources," the expert added.
According to Yuri Mavashev, Ankara is currently pursuing the most balanced policy. She will most likely be able to maintain pragmatic and mutually beneficial relations with Moscow, while avoiding any escalation with the United States. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the United States and Turkey are now actively contributing to the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, unlike most other NATO countries.
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