Cutting electricity to Syria up to Erdoğan, says Turkish minister

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

AA Photo

Cutting the sale of electricity to Syria has become a political matter and thus requires a political decision, Turkey’s Energy Minister has said, adding that measures on energy were only a part of sanctions to be imposed on Damascus in reaction to the downing of a Turkish jet.

“The ball is with our prime minister. It is no longer a technical issue but a political one. It has to be considered altogether with [sanctions in other fields]. I have just introduced the ones in the energy [sector],” Minister Taner Yıldız told a group of reporters at the Parliament yesterday.

The Cabinet reviewed measures that could be taken against Syria in reaction to the downing of its F4-E jet in international waters by Syrian security forces. Yıldız said he submitted a report to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the technical aspects of the sale of electricity to Syria. “After now, it’s up to our prime minister to decide. [The sale] is not that big in terms of its financial size; only around two billion kwh. That’s around seven percent of Syria’s total consumption. It’s even not one percent of our capacity. That’s why it requires political decision,” he said.