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23 November 2013, 21:28
Russia, Turkey: close partners, but with disagreements attached
Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin
Photo: RIA Novosti
Russia and Turkey do not see eye-to-eye on matters like Syria, Ukraine and the role of the European Union. At the same time, they are close economic and political partners. Among other things, Turkey wouldn’t mind joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community. These and other matters came under discussion between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting in Strelna near St Petersburg on Friday.
Russian-Turkish trade is at an impressive $36bln a year. More than one half of Turkey’s primary energy comes as oil and gas supplied by Russia. Thisburgeoning economic partnership also includes a number of joint projects – in Turkey, Russia and also in third countries in the near future – and close cooperation on Russia’s South Stream project, costing $20bln, for a gas pipeline to Europe laid under the Black Sea.
Importantly, Turkey has allowed Russia to use its sector of the Black Sea bed for laying the South Stream pipe. This project is taking shape as the alternative Nabucco scheme is on its way to complete failure. Turkish Ambassador to the Russian Federation Aydin Adnan describes Russian-Turkish cooperation on South Stream as a model to emulate.
Many will have also heard that Russia is helping Turkey build its first nuclear power plant, in Akkuyu in Mersin Province. Indeed, the two countries are strategic partners in energy.
Politics, however, is a different matter. Contributing to this are Turkey’s membership of NATO and its plans to join the European Union.
This is what Mr Erdogan had to say after he emerged from the meeting in Strelna:
“In Syria, Iraq and the conflict area between Armenia and Azerbaijan Russia and Turkey each have commitments of their own. At the same time, they have shared goals. Accordingly, the talks that we held in Strelna produced a platformon which we can find common ground on these issues.”
Indeed, both sides want to restore peace to Syria. Turkey, however, insists that Bashar Assad must go, while Russia fears his departure would plunge the entire region into chaos. Russia also believes that discussing Syria within the group known as The Friends of Syria – which includes the EU, the US and Turkey and would have Assad toppled – is counterproductive, and all that concerns the Syrian conflict must be looked into at the UN-sponsored Geneva-2 international conference on Syria. Vladimir Putin said he hoped Russia and Turkey would arrive at a workable compromise in the end.
Unlike Ukraine, Turkey has put its euro-integration plans on the back burner. This didn’t prevent Mr Erdogan from discussing Ukraine’s stance with Vladimir Putin. At the closing news conference, the Russian leader once again warned Ukraine it would forfeit trade with Russia if it signed an association agreement with the EU. This is economics, and it is more important than any politics, the Russian President said.
He also sounded a note of criticism aimed at the European Union:
“Ukraine says it is not ditching euro-integration, it’s only suspending its EU association talks in order to take stock of the situation. After hearing this, we also heard EU threats targeted at Ukraine. This is pressure, this is blackmail. My country welcomes President Yanukovych’s initiative to discuss the matter at three-way talks involving Ukraine, the European Union and Russia.”
“EU agreement, or otherwise, to enter equal three-way talks of this kind will be a litmus test of whether our European partners are prepared for dialogue and are serious about it. And I advise them not to mix purely economic matters with politics. Turkey has a long history of bargaining with the EU. We hope Prime Minister Erdogan will share with us his country’s experience of this bargaining.”
Mr Erdogan offered a rather unexpected response:
“I’m answering to this by articulating a request of my own: please admit Turkey to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. My country would also be happy to enter a free trade arrangement with the Eurasian Economic Community.”
Putin’s answer to this boiled down to a big ‘yes’:
“I am confident that Turkey’s international influence and the independent foreign policy that Turkey conducts under your guidance justify an even more active Turkish participation in regional international organizations. Russia is interested in this.”
On the economic front, the Strelna talks produced an agreement to streamline customs procedures with a view to bringing Russian-Turkish trade to $100bln a year.
The Voice of Russia heard about this from Turkish Ambassador Aydin Adnan:
“The sides are taking important technical steps to stimulate trade by streamlining and easing customs, transport and logistical operations. They’ve already built new logistical centers, diversified trade routes by opening new entry ports and significantly broadened what they call ‘the simplified customs corridor’.”
A brave new era of shared economic prosperity is on the horizon.
Ksenia Fokina
Read more: Russia, Turkey: close partners, but with disagreements attached - News - Politics - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video
Russia, Turkey: close partners, but with disagreements attached
Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin
Photo: RIA Novosti
Russia and Turkey do not see eye-to-eye on matters like Syria, Ukraine and the role of the European Union. At the same time, they are close economic and political partners. Among other things, Turkey wouldn’t mind joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community. These and other matters came under discussion between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a meeting in Strelna near St Petersburg on Friday.
Russian-Turkish trade is at an impressive $36bln a year. More than one half of Turkey’s primary energy comes as oil and gas supplied by Russia. Thisburgeoning economic partnership also includes a number of joint projects – in Turkey, Russia and also in third countries in the near future – and close cooperation on Russia’s South Stream project, costing $20bln, for a gas pipeline to Europe laid under the Black Sea.
Importantly, Turkey has allowed Russia to use its sector of the Black Sea bed for laying the South Stream pipe. This project is taking shape as the alternative Nabucco scheme is on its way to complete failure. Turkish Ambassador to the Russian Federation Aydin Adnan describes Russian-Turkish cooperation on South Stream as a model to emulate.
Many will have also heard that Russia is helping Turkey build its first nuclear power plant, in Akkuyu in Mersin Province. Indeed, the two countries are strategic partners in energy.
Politics, however, is a different matter. Contributing to this are Turkey’s membership of NATO and its plans to join the European Union.
This is what Mr Erdogan had to say after he emerged from the meeting in Strelna:
“In Syria, Iraq and the conflict area between Armenia and Azerbaijan Russia and Turkey each have commitments of their own. At the same time, they have shared goals. Accordingly, the talks that we held in Strelna produced a platformon which we can find common ground on these issues.”
Indeed, both sides want to restore peace to Syria. Turkey, however, insists that Bashar Assad must go, while Russia fears his departure would plunge the entire region into chaos. Russia also believes that discussing Syria within the group known as The Friends of Syria – which includes the EU, the US and Turkey and would have Assad toppled – is counterproductive, and all that concerns the Syrian conflict must be looked into at the UN-sponsored Geneva-2 international conference on Syria. Vladimir Putin said he hoped Russia and Turkey would arrive at a workable compromise in the end.
Unlike Ukraine, Turkey has put its euro-integration plans on the back burner. This didn’t prevent Mr Erdogan from discussing Ukraine’s stance with Vladimir Putin. At the closing news conference, the Russian leader once again warned Ukraine it would forfeit trade with Russia if it signed an association agreement with the EU. This is economics, and it is more important than any politics, the Russian President said.
He also sounded a note of criticism aimed at the European Union:
“Ukraine says it is not ditching euro-integration, it’s only suspending its EU association talks in order to take stock of the situation. After hearing this, we also heard EU threats targeted at Ukraine. This is pressure, this is blackmail. My country welcomes President Yanukovych’s initiative to discuss the matter at three-way talks involving Ukraine, the European Union and Russia.”
“EU agreement, or otherwise, to enter equal three-way talks of this kind will be a litmus test of whether our European partners are prepared for dialogue and are serious about it. And I advise them not to mix purely economic matters with politics. Turkey has a long history of bargaining with the EU. We hope Prime Minister Erdogan will share with us his country’s experience of this bargaining.”
Mr Erdogan offered a rather unexpected response:
“I’m answering to this by articulating a request of my own: please admit Turkey to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. My country would also be happy to enter a free trade arrangement with the Eurasian Economic Community.”
Putin’s answer to this boiled down to a big ‘yes’:
“I am confident that Turkey’s international influence and the independent foreign policy that Turkey conducts under your guidance justify an even more active Turkish participation in regional international organizations. Russia is interested in this.”
On the economic front, the Strelna talks produced an agreement to streamline customs procedures with a view to bringing Russian-Turkish trade to $100bln a year.
The Voice of Russia heard about this from Turkish Ambassador Aydin Adnan:
“The sides are taking important technical steps to stimulate trade by streamlining and easing customs, transport and logistical operations. They’ve already built new logistical centers, diversified trade routes by opening new entry ports and significantly broadened what they call ‘the simplified customs corridor’.”
A brave new era of shared economic prosperity is on the horizon.
Ksenia Fokina
Read more: Russia, Turkey: close partners, but with disagreements attached - News - Politics - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video
