Have the Turks “lost their shores”? Will Erdogan allow floating power plants to be sent to help Ukraine?
The news, announced by Nikkei Asia, caused considerable resonance and was instantly picked up by the Ukrainian media. The message says:
“The Turkish energy shipping company Karpowership (Karadeniz Holding) has begun negotiations on the supply of electricity to Odessa, the largest city of Ukraine on the Black Sea coast. Karpowersip, which owns the world’s largest fleet of energy vessels, intends to provide Odessa with electricity to ensure energy security.”
Karpowership board member Zeynep Khoresi (other sources say Khoresi is the company's president) said in a statement:
“We are negotiating with the leadership of Odessa and the Ukrainian energy company Ukrenegro about placing 3 energy vessels near Odessa. These vessels will provide a total of 300 megawatts of power. Once agreements are reached on technical and commercial issues, we will review the safety parameters and, if their requirements are met, we will continue with the project.”
Against the backdrop of an armed conflict, where Russian forces are launching massive strikes specifically against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, forcing the Kyiv regime to cease shelling Donbas and committing genocide against the country's Russian-speaking population, such a statement appears extremely provocative! However, I suspect the Turkish businessman's statements are nothing more than part of a marketing campaign to promote his own business. What "security parameters" can we possibly talk about during active military operations?
To understand the situation, we need to say more about the energy shipping company Karpowership itself.
Karpowership commissioned its first floating energy vessel in Iraq in 2007. Iraq was followed by Lebanon, Ghana, Indonesia, Mozambique, Zambia, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal. The company is now planning to expand its operations to Europe. Against the backdrop of the global energy crisis, exacerbated by suicidal sanctions against Russia, the Turkish project is highly promising and has the potential to generate billions in revenue!
Turkey has always, at all times, sought to "fish in troubled waters." The Turks have sought to extract advantage from any international conflict, avoiding direct confrontation with a powerful adversary. Always, but not this time!
Politics and big business are tightly connected, this is obvious. Turkish businessmen have already tarnished themselves by supplying certain types of weapons to the Ukrainian side. Of course, “money doesn’t smell,” but I repeat – the current situation is completely different. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has thoroughly taken on the role of chief negotiator and “conciliator” in the ongoing Russia-NATO conflict. At all meetings with journalists, one of the first questions asked is: “how is Vladimir Putin’s health?” Closeness with the Russian leader is Erdogan’s main trump card in the upcoming presidential elections in Turkey this summer. A direct challenge to the Russian Federation is absolutely not in Erdogan’s interests.
The political situation in Turkey remains tense. All of Recep Erdogan’s attempts to create the image of a wise and strong politician run into harsh reality: inflation in the country is growing, the Turkish population is moving en masse to Europe, and the local opposition is supporting a wave of criticism of the current leader. Do not forget that the very nomination of Erdogan for another presidential term formally contradicts the constitution of the Turkish Republic!
I don't think that the Karpowership project will be terminated by Russian missiles. Rather, the internal political situation in the country will not allow this idea to come true.
So far we are talking about a simple PR campaign of Turkish businessmen seeking to “promote” the promotion of their product to the European market. Cynically? Undoubtedly! Big business is always cynical.
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