Turkey's leaders have mounted a charm offensive among regional energy producers in an effort to diversify supplies, as relations with major natural gas provider Russia crumble following the downing of a Russian warplane by the Turkish air force. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu have traveled to key energy partners Qatar and Azerbaijan respectively this week to avert any economically damaging disruption in energy supplies as winter sets in, Reuters reported. Russia has already banned some Turkish food imports and left trucks carrying Turkish exports stranded at its borders. But it could deal a real blow to Turkey by reducing gas supplies. "There is indeed a crisis right now ... We are exploring how we can offset this," a Turkish energy official said. "Davutoglu and Erdogan have personally taken the initiative to make sure Turkey doesn't experience a problem in terms of energy supplies." Ankara buys nearly 60% of its total gas needs–around 27 billion cubic meters—from Russia via two main pipelines. Buying gas from Turkmenistan and boosting supplies from Iran, already Turkey's second largest supplier, are among the options being considered.
