(ANSA-AFP) - ANKARA, SEP 6 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan on Tuesday blamed Europe's energy crisis on sanctions it
imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine -- a line taken
by the Kremlin itself. Erdogan has maintained good working
relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin while trying to
stay neutral in the conflict and supplying Ukraine with Turkish
weapons and combat drones. He told reporters before departing
for a three-nation swing through the Balkans that European
nations were "harvesting what they sowed" by imposing economic
restrictions on Russia. "Europe's attitude towards Mr Putin, its
sanctions, brought Mr Putin -- willingly or not -- to the point
of saying: 'If you do this, I will do that,'" Erdogan said. "He
is using all his means and weapons. Natural gas, unfortunately,
is one of them." Erdogan's comments echo those expressed by the
Kremlin this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday
blamed Russia's halt of gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord
Stream pipeline on "sanctions that were imposed against our
country". Russia accounted for nearly half of Turkey's own
natural gas purchases last year. (ANSA-AFP).
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