THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF TURKEY-RUSSIA RELATIONS

IUE Rector Prof. Dr. Attila Sezgin made the opening speech of the seminar that took place in IUE Conference Hall and emphasized the fact that the relations between Turkey and Russia that accelerated nowadays would increase more in the following years and the cooperation between Turkey and Russia which are the two affective powers in the region had to increase.

The Moderator Gönül Soyer stated that she opened the first factory in Russia as a Turkish businesswoman and she was working hard to develop the relations between the two countries since that day. She said “In those days, my friends were not worrying about my security. They were saying ‘You are being followed by KGB in Russia and by MIT in Turkey’. Many things have changed since that day. Many developments occurred both in the two countries and in the region. There is one thing that did not change; a constitution in this geography cannot be possible without these two countries. There is more connection between the two countries nowadays, especially in AKP term. However, this is not reflected to economics much. For example, if I were the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor, I would have made an agreement with Russians for the subway and completed it without paying any money.”

21st Century Turkish Institute President and Gazi University Lecturer Prof. Dr. Ümit Özdağ made a speech supporting the idea that the closeness between Turkey and Russia had effects on some of the things that occurred in Turkey. Özdağ stated that the active forces in Turkey were making some explanations about Eurasia and it had some effects on distancing from the USA. He said “In the speeches made those days, most of the active commanders of Turkish Armed Forces stated that the globalization had many threats besides its advantages. The presence of the USA in Afghanistan and Iraq was questioned. In the last Russia-Georgia crisis the entrance of the US armada to Black Sea was prevented. Turkish Armed Forces has such an attitude nowadays. The peak point in Turkish-Russian relations is in AKP period. The visit of President of Republic Abdullah Gül to Russia on February 2nd is very important. The most important question is whether or not there is a group in favor of Eurasia-Russia in AKP.”

DEİK (Foreign Economical Relations Council) – Turkish Eurasian Business Councils President and Bosporus Gas Board of Directors Member Tuğrul Erkin stated that Russians and Turks had relations that date back to a thousand year before. He said “They established two big Empires; Turks from East to West and Russians from West to East. After the War of Independence, Turkish-Russian relations were good. The first industry investments were even made by the Russians. However, the relations got worse when Stalin claimed rights on Anatolia and Turkey became a member of NATO and got closer to West. The relations began to develop after 1967. The most important period in this relation is the Natural Gas agreement that was signed in 1981 and started to work in 1986. This gave a start to a new term in the relations. In this way, the trade between Turkey and Russia was diversified. Turkey began to sell the things it did not sell until that day and became an actor in Russian market. The trading volume which was 2 Billion dollars became nearly 35 Billion dollars.”

Çankırı Member of Parliament, Foreign Affairs Commission spokesman and AKP Foreign Affairs Vice-President Suat Kınıklıoğlu stated that the base of the plan to be close with Eurasia was laid in the period of Özal and Demirel and it continued in trilateral government. He said “The Minister of Foreign Affairs in those days, İsmail Cem’s advance to solve the problems with Greece brought a new expansion in the relations with Turkey’s neighbors and the countries in the regions around. Again, İsmail Cem put Eurasia Action Plan in the agenda in 2001. The process of getting closer with Eurasia started. AKP sustained this concept when it came into power. It is the start of being a center country apart from being the east wing of NATO and being the satellite of the USA. Black Sea and Russia had an important role in trying to establish collaboration with the region again. The negotiations between Putin and Erdoğan in 2004 accelerated this process. Turkey’s attempt after Russia-Georgia war, the visit to Armenia reinforced the relations. There are still some political disagreements. There is instability in trade. When Russia and Turkey are accepted as having the status of two equal countries in the relations with Russia, the problems can be solved faster.”   

Member of Parliament of Duma and the Director of the Political Research Institute Prof. Dr. Sergei Markov who is also the Foreign Affairs Consultant of Russian President Vlademir Putin stated that Turkey needed to be in a new union with Russia and it could not be a member to European Union at least for 30 years. Markov made interesting evaluations and stated that the global crisis that originated from the USA would bring out new creations and economical cooperation. He said “This economic crisis shows that it is time for a non-centralist structure without the USA. The place of the state is important in the new model; money other than Dollar is needed. There is no global crisis or a nuclear threat but chaos. The old security councils that have to work to maintain the order in the world became giant but weak organizations. They fall short for solving the problems. The centralist dream of the USA did not happen. We say that we need a new cooperation. Even the Americans supported the speech of Putin in Germany, but Bush and his officers objected it. However, the American society gave him the best answer and they elected Obama who was supporting the same things. A new common field is needed for economics. The countries on east of EU will be a member of EU. The new union is not against EU; on the contrary it will be close to it. Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Turkey fit to these criteria. These three countries are the members of Avrases. Turkey has to be a member too. If Turkey becomes a member, Obama will come to Ankara the next day and Brussels will rush to Ankara too. Sorkozy and Merkel’s hair will stand on end. Turkey was considered to be NATO’s east wing. With this agreement a central country will become a country that makes decisions for the region. The speech of Erdoğan in Davos is the first signal of it. We are waiting for Turkey to this union. Businessmen, politicians and academicians should get together and present the advantages of this union to the directors of the country. I believe that Putin, Erdoğan and Gül will agree with it.”