REUTERS
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan claims Turkey may reconsider the issue of buying Russian gas against the backdrop of the worsening of relations with Russia provoked by incursions into Turkish airspace, according to Russian economic information agency Prime.
"Russia must be sensitive in these issues. We are the number one consumer of Russia's natural gas. Losing Turkey would be a serious loss for Russia. If needed, Turkey can buy natural gas from many different places," Erdogan told journalists en route to Japan, Prime wrote.
He noted that Turkey could also reconsider the issue of building a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, Mersin province, in keeping with Russian blueprints under an intergovernmental agreement between Moscow and Ankara.
"If the Russians do not build Akkuyu nuclear power plant, someone else will come and build it," he added, according to NTV Channel.
Erdogan recalled that Russia had so far spent a total of $3 billion on Akkuyu nuclear plant.
As reported, the Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that Russian warplanes violated Turkish airspace twice within three days.
Russia's Defense Ministry said that the violation was a "mistake" and happened as a "result of bad weather conditions in that region." Moscow assured Ankara that this would not happen again. However, NATO does not consider violations as an accident and demands clarification from the Russian Federation.