Considering this, it can be noted that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin made an important and wise decision on normalization of bilateral relations.
There were many opinions on the causes of the crisis in Turkey-Russia relations.
According to one of them, the rapprochement of the two countries is not in the interests of the West, what was clearly proven by history.
It is enough to remember that in 1959, when the then Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes was rejected by the US in allocation of a $300 million loan for Ankara’s agrarian reforms, he was going to make this request to the Soviet Union.
If the military coup hadn’t happened in Turkey on May 27, 1960, Menderes would have gone to Moscow to discuss the loan allocation.
A year after – in 1961 – Menderes was executed.
Then, it was not ruled out in Turkey that the West, in particular NATO, is involved in the military coup and the execution of Menderes.
Therefore, currently, there is no doubt that a third party is involved in the crisis between Russia and Turkey.
A rapprochement between Turkey and Russia is against the interests of the West. It is obvious that the Turkish authorities are also well aware of this.
Despite that the West, including the US, is an official ally of Ankara, it didn’t support Turkey during the military coup attempt, when the country was waiting for it.
Moreover, the EU threatened to break relations with Ankara after the military coup attempt and the US doesn’t want to extradite Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of organizing the attempted military coup.
Turkish president and authorities assess such position of the EU and the US as the indirect support for the military coup attempt.
Why is the rapprochement of Turkey and Russia so important?
Certainly, first of all, this rapprochement will be beneficial for the whole region.
Such a rapprochement with Iran’s participation may give a serious momentum to the settlement of the Syrian crisis.
It will also positively affect the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
It should also be noted that Erdogan’s visit to Russia, first of all, is Ankara’s message to its old friends that Turkey “is not alone in the battlefield.” And if Ankara is not supported by the West, there is such a power as Russia, which, despite a number of disagreements, is yet aware of Turkey’s importance.
Secondly, Turkey and Russia intend to jointly implement a number of energy projects, such as the Turkish Stream and the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant. Of course, this issue will be on the agenda of the meetings between the two countries’ presidents and energy ministers.
This is Erdogan’s first visit to Russia after the crisis in the two countries’ relations and also after the attempted military coup in Turkey. It should demonstrate to the West that, perhaps, it is time for them to reconsider their relations with Turkey.
Therefore, it can be noted that the rapprochement is necessary for Turkey and Russia, and not only the future of the region, but also energy supply to Europe will depend on it.
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