KUALA LUMPUR (AA): Turkey’s president on Friday blasted the threat of U.S.sanctions on Turkish companies involved in a pipeline project as a“violation of our rights.”
“Now they say ‘we will impose sanctions on TurkStream’,” Recep TayyipErdogan told reporters in Malaysia, where he attended this week’s KualaLumpur Summit of Muslim world leaders.
“This is a complete violation of our rights,” Erdogan said, vowing thatTurkey would retaliate with sanctions on the U.S.
A defense budget passed by Congress this Tuesday included sanctions oncompanies involved in the Nord Stream 2 as well as the TurkStream project,arguing the projects would make Europe dependent on Russia for energy.
On Friday, Turkey condemned the use of “negative language targeting Turkey”in the U.S. budget bill.
“This is the latest outcome of the agenda pursued by Members of Congresswho are bent on damaging our bilateral relations by any means,” ForeignMinistry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement.
“Turkey condemns the exploitation of even an ordinary budgeting process forthe sake of the short-term political ambitions of U.S. politicians,” Aksoysaid.
The Nord Stream project — operational since 2011 with an annual capacity of55 billion cubic meters — brings Russian gas directly to Germany via theBaltic Sea.
The Nord Stream 2, spearheaded by Russia’s state-owned energy companyGazprom, is nearly completed and has the same annual capacity, runningalmost parallel to the first pipeline route.
Together they will meet the annual gas demands of a quarter of the Europeancontinent.
The TurkStream natural gas pipeline has a total capacity of 31.5 billioncubic meters, out of which the first line will carry a capacity of 15.75billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Turkish consumers. The second linewill carry another 15.75 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe via Turkey.
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Libya and Syria
Saying that the summit also discussed developments in Libya and Syria,Erdogan said that commander Khalifa Haftar in Libya — the leader of easternLibyan-based forces — is not a legitimate politician.
“There are those who strive to give him legitimacy,” Erdogan added.
“[Fayez] Al-Sarraj is a legitimate leader, a legitimate representative,” headded, referring to the leader of Libya’s Tripoli-based, UN-recognizedgovernment.
Countries such as Egypt, United Arab Emirates, France, and Italy as well asa Russian-linked company are trying to sideline Al-Sarraj, Erdogan added.
Since the ouster of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, two seats of powerhave emerged in Libya: one in eastern Libya supported mainly by Egypt andthe United Arab Emirates, and the Tripoli-based Government of NationalAccord (GNA), which enjoys UN and international recognition.
In April, Haftar’s forces launched a military campaign to capture Tripolifrom the internationally recognized government, but have so far failed toprogress beyond the city’s outskirts.
However, on Dec. 12, Haftar announced that he had ordered his militants tolaunch a “decisive battle” to capture the capital.
According to UN data, more than 1,000 people have been killed since thestart of the operation and more than 5,000 injured.
