Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Thursday said a possible gas pipeline project between Turkey and Israel is not possible in the short term and building an alternative system to cut Russian dependence will not happen quickly.
Turkey and Israel have in recent weeks been working to mend their long-strained ties, and energy has emerged as a potential area of cooperation.
Reports have suggested a natural gas pipeline between Turkey and Israel is being discussed behind the scenes as one of Europe’s alternatives to Russian energy supplies.
First conceived years ago, the idea is to build a subsea pipeline from Turkey to Israel's largest offshore natural gas field, Leviathan. Gas would flow to Turkey and on to Southern European neighbors looking to diversify away from Russia.
The reports emerged as Turkey and Israel proclaimed a new era in relations earlier this month after a yearslong rift as Israeli President Isaac Herzog made a landmark visit to Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last week that gas cooperation was "one of the most important steps we can take together for bilateral ties" and told reporters he was ready to send top ministers to Israel to revive the pipeline idea that has hung in the air for years.
Speaking to broadcaster A Haber, Çavuşoğlu on Thursday said he would travel to Israel and Palestine with Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez in mid-May to discuss bilateral relations and cooperation opportunities.
Gas supplies from the Mediterranean could ease European dependence on Russian gas, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent calls from European leaders to reduce the continent’s reliance on Moscow.
Plans for a subsea pipeline that would carry Israeli gas from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe via the Greek Cyprus administration, Greece and Italy, excluding Turkey, have stalled after the United States expressed misgivings in January.
Turkey has long opposed the project and has stressed that any scheme that aims to sideline the rights of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the Eastern Mediterranean will be unsuccessful.
The EastMed pipeline had enjoyed the support of the former Trump administration in the U.S. However, in an apparent U-turn, the Biden administration in January expressed doubts about the project, citing concerns over its economic viability and environmental costs.