Turkey’s president has recently held talks with Qatar on the purchase of liquefied natural gas, the deputy PM added.
Kurtulmus also touched upon Russia`s accusations that Turkey is buying oil from the terrorist Daesh group.
The deputy prime minister dismissed the claims as "nonsense". Kurtulmus said Russia’s oil trade allegations "amount to overt slander against the Turkish government and president.
“It is unacceptable. Turkey is buying oil from northern Iraq. Turkey didn’t set up illegal oil trade either with Daesh, or with any other terrorist organization,” he stressed.
According to him, Turkey keeps military and diplomatic channels open and stands ready for discussions in order to normalize the relations with Russia.
He recalled that Turkey didn’t join the Western sanctions against Russia.
Russia’s embargo against us under the pretext of current tension is an indication of double standards, said Kurtulmus.
“We have reviewed all sanctions that Russia imposed or is going to impose against us. Our relevant ministers worked on it. The best and worst economic scenarios were brought up. Turkey is ready for all scenarios,” he added.
Turkey is able to take retaliatory measures against Russia, but hopes it will not be necessary, and the problem will be solved, he said.
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