Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said the west is paying badly for underestimating Russia’s influence before sanctioning them.
Erdogan’s speech came in the light of growing energy prices in Europe as Russia decided to stop gas supply indefinitely through the Nord Stream 1 Pipeline to Europe for their sanctions against Moscow.
Reacting to the situation, Erdogan says the attitude of the West towards Russia was provocative and too harsh, and that Europe is reaping the consequences of what they sowed.
According to Erdogan, he decried the West for their clamour for Russia to use energy as a weapon of war against them, saying they should have expected such actions when taking the decision.
“This winter is going to be worst in Europe”, Erdogan says as Russia diverted energy to the east while stopping supply towards the West.
Russia since the time of western sanctions has had to leverage its position as a major distributor of energy to Europe to fight them back, cutting off countries from their gas supplies, while informing willing nations to open a roubles account as payment for energy.
Turkey, a NATO member, and that also shares a border with both Russia and Ukraine have refused to join sanctions against Russia, condemned Russia for their invasion, and instead took a neutral stance in the conflict.
Ankara also opened a roubles account with a Russian bank for energy, and economic activities between both countries have continued to flourish.
