Do regional conflicts 'divide' Moscow and Ankara?

The military operation of Russian air forces in Syria against the terrorist group Islamic State, which began on September 30, has had a negative impact on the development of relations between Moscow and Ankara. As Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Kemal Aydin stated, "regional conflicts divide Turkey and Russia on different positions."

But Moscow is far more optimistic about Russian-Turkish cooperation. The head of the Duma committee on international affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, has even expressed the opinion that these relations are now at "historically high levels." The MP made it clear that he gives such a high estimate based on the principle that cognition comes through comparison: "I cannot think of any other country in our nation's history with which Russia has fought against more often than the Ottoman Empire, Turkey. In the last 100 years of the history of our two countries, these are still years or decades, we have been trying to move away from the negativity accumulated by the centuries toward each other to a certain zero point, and then from the middle of the 20th century we began to turn zero into a plus and now this plus, indeed, is not disputed by anyone."

Kosachev noted that Russian-Turkish relations are highly exposed to the influence of external factors: "If we take recent events, it is of course obvious that a subject of controversy was the situation in Syria and around Syria, as well as the sub-question of the situation around the Kurdish problem. If you look at the story from a distance, at the things that have happened during the past year and a half, then of course, there is Ukraine, and the fact of the reunification of Crimea with Russia and, accordingly, the situation in Crimea, including the issue of the Crimean Tatars. In my opinion, in all these situations, in the actions of Russia, I am deeply convinced of this, there was no trace of the Turkish factor. Our actions in all these cases were not made in opposition to some other country, we have always contrasted our position to the position of lawlessness that emerged after the coup in Kiev, which could occur in Crimea as well, if Ukrainian insurgents could enter there, and the situation that is obvious for us and present in Syria due to the armed opposition to the current regime that exists there and due to the cumulative power of ISIS."

Commenting on Turkey's reaction to these events, Kosachev noted that it had room for maneuver in each of these situations.

"In the case of Ukraine, I salute the verified, responsible and forward-looking position of Turkey, which has refused to participate in the anti-Russian US and EU sanctions. On the other hand, it is obvious that Turkey as a NATO member has been in a certain way, rather, essentially, connected to the considerations of the Euro-Atlantic solidarity. And NATO's position in Ukraine is including, obviously, the position of Turkey as a NATO member, because the relevant decisions are taken by consensus there."

In the case of Crimea, Kosachev urged to take into account that "we are talking about the situation in Russia, it seems to me that the potential reaction of Turkey has much greater freedom of choice, if you like, because those events that took place in Crimea, with the same Crimean Tatars a year and a half ago, in my opinion, became an unprecedented advance in solving the problems of the Crimean Tatar population of Crimea."

In the case of Syria, according to Kosachev, "Turkey has every reason to be guided by its own national interests, it is clear that Russia in this situation, too, is guided by its own national interests, but it seems that this situation more unites Russia and Turkey than separates them. We have common problems, we have a common enemy in the face of ISIS, all other problems in this comparison obviously fade and give way to the threats that emanate from ISIS. It seems to me that the rapprochement of Russia and Turkey in this matter not only through the military, but also through the politicians and all the other agencies that are involved in this process, would be very desirable solutions to the problem."