Is Türkiye the most reliable route for supplying natural gas to Europe?

Russia is weaponizing energy to counter the sanctions imposed on it by European countries, since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war earlier this year, which still rages to this day with no end in sight.

Russia cutting off natural gas supplies to European countries, and the best way to ensure the security of energy supplies in Europe, have become one of the most important issues that trouble the bloc in terms of economic, political, and security, among others.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, halting the supply of natural gas to Europe through the “Nord Stream 2” and “Nord Stream 1” pipelines have become one of the issues that trouble Europe, especially with regard to identifying natural gas-producing countries that can be relied on as an alternative to Russia and how to ensure the security of natural gas supplies.

European countries have been easily receving natural gas supplies from Russia over the past years. However, the increasing  dependence of European countries on Russia has led to an impasse in political, economic, and security terms.

European states have well realized the danger of their dependence on Russia and other energy-producing countries to secure their energy needs, especially with the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Europe is now calculating the costs that it will incur as a result.

Therefore, new steps are urgently needed to find a more reliable path in ensuring the security of energy supplies to European countries. There is no doubt that EU states will consider benefiting from Türkiye’s cooperation with energy-producing countries, and its distinguished strategic location, which guarantees the security of energy supplies to European countries, and this will be a very crucial decision for Europe.

Due to its distinguished geographical location, Türkiye occupies a strategic position between the countries producing natural gas, and consuming countries that rely heavily on it as a source of energy.

Due to Türkiye's geostrategic location, it has many advantages in terms of transporting natural gas from its producing countries to international markets, compared to other alternative methods, especially in terms of economic, security, and ensuring the security of energy supplies.

Türkiye has an important and pivotal energy route, due to its distinguished geographical location, its role as a bridge between Russia and Europe since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and its leading role in the grain shipment agreement.

During the meeting between President Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 22nd summit of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand, Putin made it clear that Türkiye has become one of the most reliable paths for gas supplies from his country. This statement clearly shows Türkiye's leading role in transporting gas to Europe.

Türkiye has long taken serious steps towards becoming a hub country in the security of energy supplies. In addition to the TurkStream gas pipeline projects (extending from Russia to Türkiye via the Black Sea), TANAP (Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline), and TAP (Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline), Türkiye forms a vital route for transporting natural gas from producing countries to Türkiye and from there to European countries.

Thanks to its distinguished geographical location, Türkiye is an indispensable country in the region; Especially with regard to the transfer of natural gas expected to be discovered in the eastern Mediterranean to international markets, especially to European countries that rely heavily on foreign gas to secure their energy needs.