Dr. ASLI VAROL
Russian energy giant Gazprom announced that natural
gas delivery to Bulgaria and Poland were completely stopped on April 27, 2022,
due to non-compliance with the decision to pay gas payments in rubles. This
situation once again showed the importance of maintaining energy diplomacy.
Russian
State-owned Gazprom announced that it will stop gas supplies to Bulgaria and
Poland, which refuse to pay for deliveries in rubles. European Commission Chief
Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday morning that Russia is using gas as “an
instrument of blackmail”. She also stated that this situation was “unjustified
and unacceptable” (European Commission, 2022). Of course, President Vladimir Putin's demand for ruble gas payments is
Russia's response to sanctions, which include freezing hundreds of billions of
dollars of Russian assets (Tsolova
& Koper, 2022).
This
step of Russia is seen as a tough move against the sanctions brought after the
invasion of Ukraine. Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on the
morning of February 24, a significant amount of US and European capital
withdrew from oil and gas cooperation projects with Russia. During this period, the world's leading energy companies
such as British Petroleum (BP), Norwegian National Petroleum Company (Equinor),
Shell, ExxonMobil and Spanish Repsol announced that they were withdrawing from
Russia.
It
is a fact that there is a mutual dependence on energy in the world. Energy is a
source of life in every field from daily life to heavy industry. Energy is a strategic area
for countries in foreign policy and it can shape foreign policy.
Bovan, Vučenović and Perić define energy diplomacy as a growing diplomatic field aimed at ensuring energy security. According to the authors, the relationship between energy diplomacy, foreign policy and national security is complex and dynamic. Energy has entered the field of diplomacy and foreign policy as a result of its growing influence on national security and the economy (Bovan, Vučenović & Perić, 2020: 5).
Countries should create their energy policies and
energy diplomacy strategies according to the changing conditions in the world.
For example, Ukraine is developing a proactive energy diplomacy strategy that
faces external challenges and threats. Ukraine plays a vital role as a
strategic geopolitical gas transit country for Europe (Rotar, 2018: 50).
Turkey's
energy diplomacy should be sustainable and effective. Considering the
geopolitical reality, crisis situations such as the Russia-Ukraine war may
affect the energy sector.
Energy security, control of energy resources,
security of energy logistics, price increase are the main problems. States and energy companies are the leading actors in
energy diplomacy. In this context, states should benefit from the expertise and
competitiveness of the private sector in energy diplomacy. In times of
regional crisis, such as between Russia and Ukraine, it is necessary to maintain
a dialogue in the sphere of energy. When relations between states deteriorate,
the private sector should take on the task of communicating.
Turkey
is a transit country in energy supply for Europe. Turkey should benefit from
global energy actors in diplomacy in order to achieve its goals in the field of
energy, as well as its political foreign policy goals in its region. Moreover, Turkey has a
strong hand in this matter. Tüpraş, which can compete with global energy
companies, should represent Turkey in energy diplomacy with its experience and
capacity in the field of energy. Arts patron
Ömer M. Koç's Tüpraş will enable Turkey to become one of the world's giants in
energy.
References
Bovan, Ana, Tamara Vučenović, Nenad Perić (2020): “Negotiating Energy Diplomacy and its Relationship with Foreign Policy and National Security”, International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Vol 10, Issue 2, 1-6.
European Commission (2022): “Statement by Commission President von der Leyen following the announcement by Gazprom on the disruption of gas deliveries to certain EU Member States”, Brussels, 27 April 2022,
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_22_2682.
Rotar,
Nataliia (2018): “The Energy Diplomacy of Ukraine as an Effective and Powerful Tool
for Improving National Energy Security”, The Copernicus Journal of Political Studies, No. 1/2018, 33–53, DOI:
http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/CJPS.2018.003.
Tsolova, Tsvetelia, Anna
Koper (2022): “Europe decries 'blackmail' as Russia shuts off gas to
Poland and Bulgaria”, Reuters, April 27, 2022, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/gazprom-says-it-halts-gas-supplies-poland-bulgaria-payments-row-2022-04-27/.
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