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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in no hurry to take an openly pro-NATO, pro-Ukrainian or pro-Russian position, experts say (Photo: Collage NV)
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Balancing between the pro-Ukrainian West and the still wealthy Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is saving his country’s economy, as well as his own rating. After all, elections are coming soon in Turkey, the Western media remind.
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Turkish leader Recep Erdogan is playing a risky double game: on the one hand, he condemns the Russian invasion and acts as an intermediary in the resumption of grain exports from Ukraine, on the other hand, he refuses to support Western sanctions against the aggressor country and deepens economic cooperation with Russia, the British newspaper formulates Financial Times. According to the publication, closer cooperation between the Turkish president and Moscow, which is looking for ways to bypass Western sanctions, could provoke a response from the United States.
Ankara and Moscow have different interests in the Syrian conflict, and Turkish Bayraktar drones are helping Ukrainians destroy Russian invaders. But at the same time, Turkey does not impose sanctions against Russia, continues to buy Russian oil and gas, and keeps the skies open for Russian commercial aircraft in order to support the influx of Russian tourists. According to Western media, Turkey is being pushed to take such steps by the poor state of its own economy, while Russia remains an extremely attractive market for it.
On August 5, Erdogan met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Sochi. Following the four-hour talks, the leaders of the countries issued a joint statement announcing the expansion of trade and energy ties and the deepening of cooperation in such sectors as transport, industry, finance and construction. It is also known that Turkey agreed to pay for gas partially in rubles.
Businessmen also spoke about closer cooperation between the two countries. So, Çetin Techdelioglu, Chairman of the Board of the Istanbul Association of Exporters of Ferrous and Nonferrous Metals (IDDMIB), recently said that the Turkish business is ready to help Russia sell its metal to the EU, writes Reuters. Western sanctions give Turkish steel sector a chance to serve «warehouse and bridge” between European suppliers and Russian metal buyers, he noted.
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