ANKARA: Turkey has secured a 10.25 percent discount in the price of natural gas supplied by Russia but this will not translate into cheaper gas prices at home because of the weakening lira, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Yildiz said the 10.25 percent discount came after talks between Turkish and Russian authorities that have been under way since a visit to Turkey by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 1, 2014. Russian officials said during the visit that Turkey will get a 6 percent discount on gas supplies from 2015, but the Turkish side pressed for a bigger cut.
The talks between the Turkish Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS) and Russia’s Gazprom were concluded on Thursday with no prospect for international arbitration, Yildiz said.
But the discount is still insufficient to make up for losses Turkish lira has sustained against dollar, he said, adding that the lira has lost 12.6 percent of its value versus the dollar over the past three months. “I have to make it clear that the suggestion that the discount in Russian gas prices will mean a cut in prices for our industry and households is not accurate,” he said. “The discount we got is a significant one but it is quite obvious why I cannot say this will bring consumer prices down.”
