Turkey has called on Russia, Ukraine and all other involved parties to keep energy infrastructure outside the scope of the ongoing conflict, stressing the need to maintain uninterrupted energy flows. The appeal came from Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar on Thursday following a series of attacks near the Black Sea coast.
Last week, Ukraine launched attacks on two empty Russia-bound oil tankers traveling by sea. Kyiv claimed responsibility, saying it was retaliation for Moscow’s strikes on Ukrainian power plants. In another incident on Tuesday, Moscow alleged that a Russia-flagged tanker carrying sunflower oil was targeted by a drone. Ukraine denied involvement.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bayraktar said, “We hope this devastating war ends. But even under current circumstances, we urge all sides, Russia and Ukraine, to keep energy infrastructure away from the conflict.”
He emphasized the importance of keeping crucial supply routes such as the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) safe, noting that global energy flows depend heavily on these networks.
Rising Risk in the Region
Throughout the war, NATO-member Turkey has maintained working relations with both Kyiv and Moscow. Ankara stated that attacks on any Russia-linked vessel are unacceptable and has warned both sides. Turkey also raised the issue in a NATO meeting on Wednesday.
Amid growing tensions, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to cut off Ukraine’s access to the sea and instructed his forces to intensify attacks on Ukrainian facilities and ships.
These developments have sharply increased transportation costs for cargo vessels in the Black Sea. Due to safety concerns, a Turkish shipping company transporting Russian goods suspended operations after one of its vessels was attacked near Senegal. No group has claimed responsibility for that incident.
The CPC pipeline—which carries more than 80% of Kazakhstan’s crude oil exports and accounts for over 1% of global oil supply—was temporarily shut down on Saturday after a Ukrainian drone strike damaged a mooring point at the Novorossiysk terminal on the Black Sea.
Kazakhstan is now planning to transport more crude through the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline starting in December, multiple sources said. According to Bayraktar, BTC continues to operate normally and currently delivers 600,000 to 700,000 barrels of oil per day to the global market.
