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The situational alliance between Erdogan and Putin will reach its maximum during the elections. After this has already happened several times, changes will begin in Ankara’s foreign policy. At the same time, Ukraine will build relations with any Turkish politician who won fair elections. Igor Semyvolos, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, shared this opinion on the FREEDOM TV channel today, January 30.
The expert calls the alliance between Ankara and Moscow situational and explains the need for money to finance social programs launched by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in order to attract the poorer sections of the population to his side.
“Therefore, a situational alliance between Erdogan and Putin arose, which will probably reach its maximum during the elections. After the elections, obviously, as we know, this has happened many times, a change in Turkey’s foreign policy will begin. Much will depend on the situation on the Ukrainian front. Much will depend on the situation in the Middle East. We can also talk about the changes that are taking place in Iran, from the point of view of a possible attack on Iran and the general domestic political situation in this country,” comments the guest of the broadcast.
He also noted that the Turkish opposition, which is preparing to compete with Erdogan in the presidential elections, generally has a positive attitude towards Ukraine.
“Naturally, you need to work with experts who surround opposition Turkish politicians, you can’t let it go on its own, but in general the attitude towards Ukraine is positive,” he emphasized, adding that if the opposition candidate wins, Turkey’s foreign policy will become more orderly and Euro-oriented.
At the same time, he noted that even in this case, relations with Russia will be determined by pragmatic interests.
“We must not forget that these relations are largely formed by large and medium-sized Turkish businesses that have interests in Russia. But if we take the Turkish economy as a whole, then big money, big resources and big opportunities have always come to Turkey from Europe. And this is also a factor that plays an important role in the formation of the political position in the country. Therefore, I think the opposition and the people who can replace Erdogan after the elections will take these two factors into account,” said the director of the Middle East Studies Center.
He also emphasized that Kyiv will build relations with Ankara in any case.
“Erdogan, with whom we have a long history of relations: both ups and downs. Now these relations are not stable. We understand our partner and understand what he wants, we understand how Turkey works and what restrictions exist, including in this policy. As for the opponents, <…> I assume that all agreements concluded with Ukraine will be observed. And, accordingly, in this regard, we will not have any problems establishing relations with any Turkish politician who may come to power,” Igor Semyvolos summarized.
