Turkey asks Russia for a discount on natural gas and payment in TL

President of the AKP, Tayyip Erdogan, wants to establish even closer financial relations with Russia, Bloomberg has learned from Turkish officials. Speaking to Bloomberg, many Turkish officials said that Erdogan’s goals include price reductions in energy imports and paving the way for lira payments.

According to the news published in Bloomberg HT, a senior Turkish official with knowledge of the subject said that Erdogan will demand a 25 percent discount on natural gas and payment of a part of the energy bill in lira during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan.

Sources familiar with Moscow’s stance did not confirm that a gas discount to Turkey was being discussed. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced last month that an agreement had been reached between the two countries to make some of the payments in rubles.

Russia has already provided money inflows to Turkey this year. Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear power company, sent about $5 billion for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in July. This transfer had the effect of increasing Turkey’s official reserves.

CONTACT IS ESTABLISHED WITH THE GULF COUNTRIES

According to Bloomberg’s report, Erdogan is also knocking on the door of the Gulf Arab countries for financial support. According to the information given by the Turkish authorities, the Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati is leading the initiatives to provide additional support from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which have a swap line agreement with the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey.

Turkey is making attempts to reach similar agreements with Saudi Arabia, where relations began to improve earlier this year. Authorities stated that although Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hoped for a step forward during his visit to Ankara in June, the talks on the issue stalled but are expected to be revived this month.

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