ISTANBUL

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday that Moscow respects Türkiye’s position, addressing questions on whether Ankara could stop purchasing Russian gas and oil under pressure from the US.

“I don’t want to speculate, but I want to confirm what I always say about Türkiye and any of our other partners: we respect the position of the Turkish Republic, and we have no doubt that the Turkish Republic respects itself and its people,” Lavrov told reporters after the high-level week of the 80th UN General Assembly in New York, cited by the Russian state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump expressed confidence that Türkiye would end its purchases of Russian oil. Trump held talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington a day earlier.

Türkiye is one of the largest buyers of Russian energy, relying heavily on natural gas imports from Moscow.