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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow respects Türkiye’s independent position, following questions over whether Ankara could reduce or end its energy purchases from Russia, which was involved in the Trump-Erdogan meeting in Washington, D.C. this week.
"I don’t want to guess, but I want to confirm what I always say in relation to Türkiye and any of our other partners: we respect the position of the Republic of Türkiye and we have no doubt at all that the Republic of Türkiye respects itself and its people," Lavrov said during a press conference after the 80th United Nations General Assembly.
Lavrov's comments came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump voiced confidence that Türkiye would stop buying Russian oil.
A Turkish diplomatic source told Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency on Friday that there were no changes in Ankara’s policy following Trump’s call to abandon Russian oil, but added that it was necessary to wait for official statements.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia would continue its trade and economic cooperation with Türkiye, adding that TurkStream and Blue Stream—major natural gas pipelines supplying energy to the country and the wider region—were operating at full capacity.
"Türkiye is a sovereign state that makes its own decisions about which areas to cooperate with us," Peskov said.
"If certain types of trade in certain goods appear profitable to the Turkish side, then the Turkish side will continue to do so."
Türkiye is among the largest buyers of Russian energy and remains dependent on Moscow for much of its supply.
In the first half of 2025, Russian oil accounted for more than 60% of Türkiye’s total oil imports, while Russian natural gas made up over 30% of the country’s gas purchases, according to figures from the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).
Türkiye’s overall energy imports from Russia amounted to $37.4 billion between January and July 2025, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), with petroleum and oil products accounting for more than $10.7 billion of this total.
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