Last year, the volume of trade between Türkiye and Russia topped $62 billion, a senior Russian diplomat on said Saturday.
Speaking to the Russian news agency RIA, Yury Pilipson, director of the 4th European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Russian-Turkish cooperation has developed "especially dynamically" in recent years.
"This is the result of joint efforts of the two countries' governments, relevant departments, and economic entities. It is important that the potential of our partnership remains significant to achieve new horizons," he stressed.
He added that the West, displeased with the successes of the effective Russian-Turkish cooperation, "chooses in favor of destroying what others have built."
"Such a destructive (Western) line about Russian-Turkish relations will continue. However, I am sure that together with Turkish colleagues, we will be able to resist the provocative attempts of hostile forces," he said.
Pilipson described as "significant" the place of energy in Russian-Turkish cooperation, with two gas pipelines – BlueStream and TurkStream – working successfully, and a gas hub to create infrastructure for further development of commercial contacts in the energy sector.
Carrying natural gas from Russia to Türkiye and further into Europe, the TurkStream was formally launched in January 2020. The pipeline, which allows Moscow to bypass Ukraine as a transit route to Europe, carries Russian gas to Southern Europe through the Black Sea and Türkiye.
It has an annual capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) and consists of two 930-kilometer (577.89-mile) offshore lines and two separate onshore lines 142 kilometers and 70 kilometers long.
The first line, with a capacity of 15.75 bcm, is designated for supplies to Türkiye’s domestic customers. In addition, the downlink to Türkiye carries gas to several European countries, including Serbia and Hungary.
Blue Stream crosses the eastern Black Sea from north to south, making landfall more than 700 kilometers east of the Bosporus.
The diplomat assured that the Russian-built Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in southern Türkiye would be completed in time, "in line with all required standards of quality, physical safety," despite attempts to hinder the process.
Asked if Turkish authorities might not choose Russian firm Rosatom to build a second nuclear power plant in Türkiye’s Black Sea region due to Western sanctions on Moscow, Pilipson said Akkuyu shows that the two countries may implement great projects together despite external pressure.
Türkiye, most recently in April, gained the status of a country boasting nuclear energy, as its first plant, the Akkuyu NPP, received the initial batch of nuclear fuel.
Akkuyu NPP is Türkiye's "biggest joint investment" with Russia. The plant will be fully operational by 2028 and supply 10% of Türkiye’s electricity consumption, while the Akkuyu project is projected to contribute $1.5 billion (TL 29.15 billion) annually to decrease Türkiye's natural gas imports and will have a "positive impact" on national income.
