Putin and Erdogan agreed to pay the price of 25% of Russian gas supplies to Türkiye in rubles

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan that he had agreed with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Ankara would pay 25% of Russian gas supplies in rubles.

The two presidents had agreed last August on Russian gas supplies to Türkiye, paid in rubles.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Erdogan continues his relations with both Kyiv and Moscow, and his mediation succeeded in holding two meetings of representatives of the two countries.

It provides Kyiv with combat marches, but in recent months it has increased its initiatives towards Moscow, especially at the commercial level.

Putin, whose country has been under Western sanctions since it attacked Ukraine on February 24, also announced that he had received a signal about allowing the export of Russian products from Turkish ports.

He continued, “Our companies received an indication that they will be able to export their products from Türkiye,” which he described as a reliable partner, expressing his desire to achieve a significant increase in trade exchanges with it.

Ankara played a key role in concluding an UN-sponsored agreement in July between Kyiv and Moscow that would allow the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea and the Bosporus.

But Moscow has since said that part of the agreement signed in parallel on the export of Russian agricultural products has remained without effect.

Erdogan has succeeded in maintaining, since the beginning of the war, relations with Kyiv and Moscow, for which he has gathered representatives twice.

Before his meeting with Putin, the Turkish president called on Russia to end the war in Ukraine as soon as possible.

“We’re working to end the conflict in Ukraine as quickly as possible through diplomatic means,” he told the summit participants.

Despite supplying Kyiv with combat drones, Erdogan has in recent months doubled down on conciliatory initiatives toward Moscow, especially in relation to trade, while his country faces a serious economic crisis and inflation officially exceeds 80% nine months before the Turkish presidential elections.