... Russia–Turkey relations. However, it is also clear that the energy aspect played a key role in making it possible to start the process of normalization.
The Syrian Challenge
REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
Andrey Kortunov: the West is not the Only Option
for Russia and Turkey
The Syrian crisis continues to be a challenge for Turkey–Russia relations. From the very outset, the regional agenda has been at the forefront for both parties throughout the crisis. And this remains the case now, when relations are being normalized....
... is a necessary vis-à-vis in order to cooperate with if one wants to achieve its goals in Syria. Fortunately, the rift in Russia-Turkey relations is almost over now and countries are in the process of
resuming
their cooperation including the case of Syria. The restoration of Russia-Turkey ties and especially their coordination on Syria gives a hope for more effective struggle against ISIS in the region, especially in northern Syria. However, a big progress on Syria is quite unlikely as both Russia and Turkey have already invested ...
To understand Russia’s foreign policy today, its relations with Turkey and the West, one needs to look at the past.
Today, we have vast nuclear arsenals ... ... the brink of a global war. They came to power during a time when relations between Russia and the West are relaxed. They take this situation for granted and focus on each... ... group Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant), the war in Syria and Iraq, the migrant crisis, slow growth. But these are issues civilised nations...
... each other. Iran has faced a resurgence of violence in its own Kurdistan in the past months, whereas southeastern Turkey is the theater of more than guerilla warfare between Turkish forces and the PKK[3].
The Geneva process could bring a momentum to Russia-Kurds relations. Now that Turkey has grabbed its sphere of influence in northern Syria, preventing the emergence of Rojava, and solving by the same token Damascus’ Kurdish problem, both Turkey and the Syrian regime might be less frustrated by the potential participation of a Kurdo-Kurdish delegation in the peace process. The ...
... cannot ignore the fact that Turkey recently held talks with Russia and Iran, allies that support the Bashar al-Assad regime. The words of Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yıldırım, who called for “a new page” to be opened in the history of Syria – one that would involve Turkey, Iran, Russia, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states – have also caused a stir. He also stated, for the first time, that he would not be against al-Assad being involved in the political process during a “transitional period,...
... a neo-Kemalist foreign policy that focuses on national interests and respects the territorial integrity of Turkey’s neighbors.
There is no surprise that beside other issues the parties concentrated on discussing Syria. In geopolitical terms, Syria is a top priority for Turkey, just as Ukraine is of central interest to Russia. Russian decision, in late September 2015, to intervene in Syria had caused huge problems between Ankara and Moscow. After Russian SU-24 had been shot down by Turkish Air Forces, bilateral relations further deteriorated. By sending troops to Syria,...
..., could not but worry the central government in Baghdad, which was left out of these deals.
REUTERS/Murad Sezer
Ilshat Saetov:
Recep Erdogan’s Letter Is an
Acknowledgement that the Attack on SU-24
Failed to Achieve its Goals
The rift between Russia and Turkey occurred over the Syrian issue. The confrontation with Russia and Syria, support for the (mostly Sunni) Syrian opposition and the controversial policy in Iraq prompted Erdogan to use pro-Sunni policy and rhetoric. Naturally, this approach
brought
Turkey into the Sunni ...
... conflict in Libya, Ukraine, and Syria, all within or near its periphery. The situation in Syria has led to refugee and migrant crises unseen in the world or Europe since WWII;... ... regional refugee and economic policies. In France, a rising far-right party funded by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government may possibly come to control France... ... left and drives its people further to the right. The assault on democratic norms in Turkey by its government is far worse. Still worse in that region, the Arab Spring has...
... the risks. Passing ownership to Turkey can become Gazprom’s new strategy to improve its image in anticipation of EU’s commission decision about its alleged non-compliance with EU competition regulations. All the ways lead to… SyriaRussian actions in Syria considered by Ankara as “grave mistake” since, as is knows, Turkey provides Syrian rebel groups with weapon and training. However, adding Syrian events into equation only makes us come back to the question of Turkey’s alternative gas sources and supply cuts discussed above. It will be difficult to reach ...
... religious, regional and political factions in Syria, including the preservation of their traditional links with neighboring countries. The concept of an ‘asymmetrical federation’ may become the platform for a compromise not only between Russia and Turkey, but between all the major players involved in the Syrian conflict. If we agree on the future of Syria, it would be much easier to move ahead on other burning issues.
REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail
Andrey Kortunov:
What should Russia do to Solve the Syrian
Crisis?
Some say that Russia is enjoying hard power ...
