Following a failed coup attempt on July 15 in Turkey, the country’s leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, signaled that he may be willing to threaten the long-term energy stability of the European Union (EU) by reentering into a partnership with Russia to ship massive amounts of Siberian-produced gas into the West, which could foil EU plans to create greater energy diversity.

After a joint declaration on Tuesday, August 9 that called for resuming construction of the stalled Russian-backed TurkStream pipeline project, Turkish and Russian officials the following day indicated that they may also make a major change to the EU-backed $ 10 billion Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) project. Initially intended to facilitate shipments from Azerbaijan’s Shah-Deniz gas field to Europe through Turkey, it may be combined with the reauthorized TurkStream pipeline. If this happens, Russia’s state-owned Gazprom will exercise high levels of control over both projects.

Competition for Gas Sources and Delivery Routes

Muddying the waters even more, just before Erdogan met with Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the Russian president was in Baku, Azerbaijan, meeting with his Azeri and Iranian counterparts to discuss new ways these nations could work together to produce and ship gas supplies.…

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