(Source: http://promvest.info/ru/vazhno)

Turkey may reconsider the issue of purchases of Russian gas because of the deterioration of relations with Moscow after the air incident last week. This was stated by the President T. Erdogan, as TASS reports. According to his words, Russia should be sensitive to such issues, for Turkey can buy gas “in different places”.

Erdogan also said that Turkey might refuse from the construction of the nuclear power plant “Akkuyu” by the Russian project. “If Russians don’t build the Russian NPP “Akkuyu”, someone else will come and build it” - the Turkish President said. On October 6 the Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov stated that the Russian Federation gave Turkey a full explanation on the incident with the Russian military aircrafts that had violated the country’s airspace. He expressed hope that the incident would not affect the implementation of the “Turkish Stream” project.

On October 6 President Erdogan warned Russia that Moscow would lose a lot in case of a conflict with Ankara. He noted that the violation of the country’s borders by Russian aircrafts was not allowed. “An attack on Turkey is an attack on NATO” - the Turkish leader concluded. On October 5 the Turkish General Staff reported that on October 4 ten Turkish fighter aircrafts patrolling the border with Syria had also met an unidentified MiG-29 which took two F-16 fighters in the sight of its radar. On the same day it became known that the Russian ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry who expressed their protest against the violation of the air borders of Turkey. According to Ankara, on October 3 two F-16 planes of the Turkish Air Forces patrolling the region found a Russian plane near the city of Yayladağı in the southern province of Hatay which borders Syria. After interception it left Turkish airspace in the direction of Syria.

The Russian embassy in Turkey has confirmed the fact of the incident. In late July it was reported about the suspension of negotiations between Moscow and Ankara on the gas pipeline project “Turkish Stream” due to the unresolved issue of the discount on Russian gas. Turks intended to get a 10 percent discount, while “Gazprom” insists on the start of the project and is ready to discuss the discount only after it. Initially Russia was counting on the construction of four strings of the pipeline with a total capacity of 63 billion cubic meters per year, while Turkey needs only one.