Turkiye may further reduce its natural gas imports from Russia in favour of cheaper alternatives, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said.

Axar.az reports, citing Turkish media, that Bayraktar said the shift was driven by market conditions rather than political considerations.

"The reason we are buying less gas from Russia and more gas from the U.S. has a very simple answer: not politics, but price. Russia is extremely expensive," Bayraktar said.

He noted that Turkiye would continue to need Russian gas but could increase purchases from more competitive suppliers if price differences persist.

"On the energy demand side, because gas is extremely expensive, you are basically forcing people to find alternatives—either alternative gas channels, cheaper gas, competitive gas, or alternative fuel," he noted.

Under Turkiye's National Energy 2040 plan, annual natural gas demand is projected to remain at around 57 billion cubic metres, compared with a potential 77 billion cubic metres without the plan.