"The volume of our imports from Russia accounts for $25 billion… We are working to minimize our energy dependence on Russia in the coming years. We are planning to reach it during negotiations with Azerbaijan, Qatar, Northern Iraq and other states," Mustafa Elitas said at the Chamber of Commerce in Kayseri, as quoted by NTV channel.
Elitas noted that Turkey had received a 40 percent discount on the cost of transporting gas from Azerbaijan, effective from this week.
In response to this "stab in the back", as it was described by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey, including the suspension of some strategic bilateral projects, in particular, negotiations on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project.
Russian gas currently accounts for about 50 percent of Turkey's total gas imports. Following the incident, Turkey has revived talks with Azerbaijan and Qatar on energy cooperation.
