Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez announced Thursday that Turkey would pay for natural gas in rubles and was discussing the option to pay for some of the transit in Turkish liras.
"It is a positive development to have a reached deal on the gas supply from Russia in national currencies… Gas security and supply from Russia will continue. And I don’t expect any breakup for now," Yilmaz said.
Russia has been seeking agreements with trade partners that would allow it to sell commodities for rubles and other national currencies, avoiding the US dollar. Indian companies have been increasingly using Asian currencies to buy Russian goods to bypass Western sanctions.
Yilmaz said Turkish neutrality on the Ukraine crisis and its refusal to back Western efforts to isolate Russia were commendable. The two countries have a special relationship that has proven crucial during this time of volatility, he said.
"There is always some pressure coming from the West… But Turkey could manage to escape from many aspects of isolation of Russia. Simply because we are neighbors, we have special relations and we must manage to escape," he said.
Moscow and Ankara should bolster their comprehensive cooperation to resist Western pressure, the politician suggested. He added that Russia should let Turkey defend its security interests in Syria in return.