Turkey refuses to extend gas contract with russia

Turkey has refused to extend a gas contract with Russia, as the two sides have failed to agree on the amount of discount, state media reported. "Turkey has annulled a gas contract with Russia because we've failed to agree on discount for fuel delivery," Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz was quoted as saying by the Turkey''s state news agency, Anatolian News Agency. Turkey refused to extend a contract for the purchase of Russian gas that is delivered via the western corridor through the Balkans. The Turkish minister of energy and natural resources mentioned the possibility of not extending the contract as early as last Thursday. He stressed that the future of the gas contract depended on whether Moscow was going to agree to discounts requested by Ankara. The minister added that Turkey would annul the contract and would hand over the question of gas purchases to private companies. The Turkish-Russian contract for gas deliveries officially expires at the end of 2011. He added that the decision was not going to affect the relations between the two countries. Taner Yildiz said the decision was not going to affect relations between the two countries and added that not all contracts with Russian had been annulled.