In June 2015, Gazprom secured permission from Turkey to carry out engineering surveys for the offshore section of the Turkish Stream and planned to conduct investigations within the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters of Turkey.
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Turkey does not approve cantons in Syria, whether they are Turks, Kurds, or Arabs, Davutoglu said.
Russia and Turkey have suspended negotiations on the $12bn Turkish Stream pipeline project after relations between the two countries deteriorated due to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member shooting down a Russian military aircraft.
“No one can blame Turkey, no one can expect an apology from Turkey”, Davutoglu said in the speech, which was televised on Turkish television. Associated Press reported that Davutoglu said Turkey would not apologise for defending its own borders, and that it would not be “brought to its knees” by Russian Federation.
The $10-billion TANAP pipeline will transport Azeri gas from the Georgian-Turkish border to Turkey’s western border.
The Turkish premier further called on Russian Federation to act in concert with the U.S.-led worldwide coalition and jointly fight against Daesh. Russian Federation denies the claim and has since banned some Turkish food imports in retaliation as part of a sanctions package.
Davutoglu also pointed out that the incident took place on the Turkey-Syria border, not on the border between Turkey and Russian Federation or Syria and Russian Federation.
He recalled Ankara’s support for Moscow after the US and European Union imposed sanctions on Russian Federation for its role in the conflict in Ukraine. “Those who believe in that economic sanctions against an honorable nation like Turkey can bring it to its knees will be mistaken”, Davutoglu stated.
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Thursday saw the first high-level contact between Ankara and Moscow during a private meeting of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the OSCE summit in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
