The United States wants to disable the Turkish Stream, inciting Ukraine, Lavrov said. Turkey called the consequences of a possible terrorist attack for Europe, the observer writes Pravda.Ru Lyubov Stepushova.
"The United States gives the go-ahead to carry out terrorist activities to destroy the basis of the EU's energy well-being. Where they incite their Ukrainian customers to follow the Nord Streams and "The Turkish stream will be "put out of action," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference on January 14.
On January 11, the Russian Defense Ministry announced an attempted drone attack on the Russian compressor station in the Krasnodar Territory, which supplies gas via a pipeline to southern Europe. According to the Ministry of Defense in Telegram, the building and equipment of the compressor station were slightly damaged, after troubleshooting, the gas supply continued to be carried out normally.
The probability of new attacks on the infrastructure of the Turkish Stream is quite high, since today it is already the only Russian gas pipeline to Europe. According to the assessment of the Turkish expert of the president of the Research Center for Energy Strategies and Policy of Turkey (TESPAM) Oguzhan Akyener, in case of real damage, the Russian station could be put into operation for months.
In this case, gas prices in the EU will rise by another 25% after an increase of 20% as a result of Ukraine closing its GTS.
"If a solution to this situation is not found in the short term, an increase of 50-60% is possible, depending on seasonal conditions," the expert told Milliyet newspaper.
The length of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline is more than 930 kilometers, and it is laid along the bottom of the Black Sea. Therefore, it is possible to blow up the pipe in the sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about such attempts earlier. According to him, "our ships are guarding these pipeline systems, and they are constantly being attacked."
Der Spiegel, citing informed sources, confirmed these data. According to the newspaper, Zaluzhny, when he was commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, proposed to "expand the operation" on the Nord Streams and the Turkish Stream, an attack on which "would later fail."
Despite sanctions and statements about reducing dependence on Russian energy carriers, Russian gas exports to Europe via pipelines increased by 13.4% in 2024 and almost reached 33 billion cubic meters, according to the European Network of Gas Transmission System Operators. At the same time, deliveries via the Turkish Stream for the first time turned out to be more than transit through Ukraine — 16.7 billion cubic meters (an increase of 22.3%) against 16.1 billion cubic meters (+5.4%). In 2025, Gazprom is ready to export 25 billion cubic meters to Turkey and 15 billion to Europe via the Turkish Stream. Thus, the losses of Ukrainian transit will be almost completely blocked.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Monday, January 13, that the alleged "attack" on the Turkish Stream pipeline constitutes an encroachment on the sovereign rights of the countries that use it. I would like to hear from him about the sanctions on the Kiev regime.
As long as it exists, ready for permanent terrorist attacks against the Russian Federation, there will be no agreements with the United States. Moscow is ready to discuss security guarantees for "the country that is now called Ukraine," Lavrov said. But for the settlement it is necessary to agree on larger issues in the Eurasian format, the minister stressed.