TODAY'S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL Monday December 22, 2014
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attend a news conference at the presidential palace in Ankara on Dec.1, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)
Some politicians and analysts believe that a pipeline deal following Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Turkey demonstrates that Ankara is distancing itself from the European Union and is choosing to form new alliances, notably with Russia.
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Adana deputy Faruk Loğoğlu told Today's Zaman on Monday that Turkey and Russia have both been isolated for different reasons and they therefore wish to “ease the feeling of loneliness by getting together.”
During Putin's visit, Russia and Turkey agreed to increase economic ties, with Putin announcing that Russia would stop construction of the South Stream natural gas pipeline to Europe, instead naming Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative pipeline.
“The South Stream project may seem to bring Turkey and Russia together; however, it increases Turkey's energy dependency on Russia. Turkey's involvement in the project also seems like a challenge to the EU,” said the CHP deputy.
Putin said those who want Russian natural gas can now buy it from Turkey after Russia and Turkey signed an agreement to build a natural gas hub on Turkey's border with Greece. The news of Russia's decision to drop the South Stream project has caused worry in the EU, at a time when EU countries and the US have imposed sanctions on Russia due to the situation in Ukraine.
Çanakkale University Rector Sedat Laçiner has stressed that Turkey and Russia have been going through a period in which both countries have strained ties with the EU. “Both countries aim to overcome their problems with the West via cooperation in the East,” Laçiner told Today's Zaman on Monday.
The EU has been pursuing new energy suppliers after imposing sanctions on major Russian oil producers due to Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini visited Ankara in early December and touched on Putin's visit to Turkey.
Mogherini said the EU would not be drawn into a battle with Russia for influence over Turkey, following Moscow's announcement last week that it was scrapping the South Stream gas pipeline project and naming Turkey as its preferred partner for an alternative.
"It would be good if in the future we create more areas for cooperation rather than competition [with Russia] but Turkey is definitely out of this game, if there is a game in this sense," she said.
Reports said Turkey's lack of support for Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of parts of Ukraine was on the agenda of Mogherini and the EU officials that accompanied her. According to the reports, the EU officials pressed Turkey to join in the sanctions, or at least stop taking advantage of the current situation, exporting certain products to Russia.
However, when asked about the claims that EU officials asked Turkey to join in the sanctions on Russia during their visit, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the EU delegation did not convey such a demand to him during the meeting.
FM Undersecretary Sinirlioğlu visits Russia
Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu paid an official visit to Moscow on Dec. 21-22 for talks on bilateral and regional issues.
Sinirlioğlu was scheduled to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Ministers Mikhail Bogdanov and Grigory Karasin during his visit.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a written statement on Monday that the Turkish and Russian officials exchanged views on developments in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine along with several other international issues.
On Thursday of last week, Putin praised his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling him a “man of strong character” because he had stood up to Western pressure and not tried to maintain secrecy over the new energy agreement between Ankara and Moscow. Answering a question regarding Western requests for Turkey to join the sanctions against Russia during an annual press conference in Moscow, Putin said that he had proposed to Erdoğan that he not publicize their new agreement on energy cooperation. “But he [Erdoğan] is a strong man. He said: ‘No. We will publicize it.' This is the choice of our Turkish partners,” Putin was quoted as saying by the Russian news agency TASS.
Turkey, which has vowed to protect the rights of the pro-Ukraine Crimean Tatars, has criticized the forcible seizure of Crimea from Ukraine and its subsequent annexation but has no intention of joining the Western sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
Putin also suggested that he is keen on developing further cooperation with Turkey on regional issues. “Our priorities coincide in many regional issues. They can't be resolved without Turkey's participation,” he was quoted as saying by TASS.
After Putin's visit to Turkey, the BBC Turkish Service ran a story describing the meeting between Putin and Erdoğan a “summit of precious loneliness,” clearly referencing Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidency İbrahim Kalın's remarks praising Turkey's stance on certain international issues, which he characterizes as “precious loneliness.”
The BBC's Suat Taşpınar pointed out that both countries are having problems with their respective international relations and do not take kindly to any criticism from the West. Putin and Erdoğan are often compared to each other in the Western press for espousing a drift toward authoritarianism.
