Türkiye warns Russia and Ukraine: Keep pipelines and tankers out of conflict

Türkiye is calling on Russia, Ukraine, and all other parties to keep energy infrastructure out of their conflict and ensure that energy flows continue without disruption, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, following a series of attacks off Türkiye’s Black Sea coast.

Ukraine, which has been targeting Russia’s oil exports while Moscow bombards its power grid, claimed responsibility for a seaborne drone attack on two empty tankers heading to a Russian port last week. However, Kyiv denied involvement in another incident on December 2, in which a Russian-flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil reported a drone attack.

“Hopefully, this horrible war will end. But as of today, we say to all parties—Russia and Ukraine—to keep energy infrastructure out of this war,” Bayraktar told journalists in embargoed comments on Wednesday. “We need to keep energy flows uninterrupted,” he added, emphasising that key routes, including the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline, must remain secure.

Ankara, a NATO member that has maintained relatively warm relations with both Kyiv and Moscow during the war, has called attacks on Russia-linked vessels near Türkiye unacceptable and warned both sides, discussing the issue at a NATO meeting on Wednesday.

In response, President Vladimir Putin threatened to cut Ukraine’s access to the sea and said Russia would intensify strikes on Kyiv’s facilities and vessels.

The attacks have driven up Black Sea shipping insurance rates and led one Turkish company to suspend Russia-related operations due to security concerns after one of its vessels was damaged near Senegal by external impacts. No party claimed responsibility.

The CPC pipeline, which transports over 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports and more than 1% of global supply, temporarily halted operations on Saturday after a mooring at its Black Sea terminal near Novorossiisk, Russia, was damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike. Five industry sources later indicated that Kazakhstan would divert more crude via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline in December.

“According to the flow numbers in the BTC, there is no reduction. As of today, BTC is supplying 600,000 to 700,000 barrels of oil to global markets,” Bayraktar said.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ankara for talks with President Tayyip Erdoğan.

“The topic we discussed with Zelenskyy was, of course, their request for help with gas supply to Ukraine,” Bayraktar said when asked about the meetings. He noted that Ukraine had a similar arrangement with Greece and added that Türkiye’s state energy company, BOTAS, and Ukraine’s Naftogaz are working on ways Ankara could assist Kyiv.

Bayraktar did not provide further details but said Ukraine has a “huge capacity” in underground storage, allowing it to store energy brought in cheaply during summer months for use in winter.

By Tamilla Hasanova