Turkey in center of EU's attention

Turkey has become the focus of attention of European politicians, the success of a settlement of the migration crisis in Europe and the Middle East depends on its decisions and the overall political future, German, British and Russian politicians told Vestnik Kavkaza on the sidelines of the official opening of the annual ‘Valdai’ meeting in Sochi. Experts demonstrated the whole range of opinions, but agreed that Turkey today plays an important role in regional politics.

Thus, the scientific director of the German-Russian Forum, Alexander Rar, noted that due to the influx of migrants to Germany, it has been forced to change its strategy towards Turkey. "The relations between the two countries were previously normal, but not warm, especially after Angela Merkel came to power, who has made it clear that Turkey will be the closest strategic partner of the EU, but not its member. That is why everyone was surprised when this weekend it turned out that Merkel has changed her position," he said.

"Merkel has promised the Turkish leadership to start negotiations on joining the EU, provide financial assistance from Brussels if Ankara closes the borders between Turkey and Syria to the next million refugees, and to simplify the visa regime for its citizens,"the German political scientist noted.

According to Alexander Rar, these negotiations represent "a dramatic turn of European policy towards Turkey." "Turkey is the last chance to save Europe from uncontrolled migration from the Middle East and North Africa. It is another question whether Turkey can become this wall for Europe," the scientific director of the German-Russian Forum concluded.

The scientific director of the International Discussion Club Valdai, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, Fyodor Lukyanov, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that it is important for the region to preserve political stability in Turkey against the backdrop of current "increased political turbulence." "For foreign players it is very important what is happening in Turkey, where a lot of the processes threaten to get out of control. These internal processes, seemingly unrelated to Russian-Turkish and other foreign relations, affect everything," Lukyanov noted.

According to him, Turkey's domestic problems hinder relations with Russia in areas which were relevant six months ago, including constructive economic cooperation. "The result of the parliamentary elections on November 1 is unpredictable. If the situation stabilizes, Turkey will try to get back to the business discussion of those issues. If not, then we will get a region-wide acute problem," the scientific director of the International Discussion Club Valdai warned.

The well-known British diplomat, a former ambassador of the UK to Russia, a former head of the Department of the UK Foreign Ministry for UN Contacts, Sir Tony Brenton, described Turkey as "a key element in preventing the refugee crisis." "London has great relations with Ankara, because Turkey is a NATO member. The visit of Angela Merkel to Istanbul showed that the EU is trying to help Turkey to accommodate refugees. The UK conducts a principled policy for tackling the refugee crisis, providing aid to the camps. And the rest of the EU has now moved in the same direction. And we are very keen to see that policy progress and succeed," Sir Tony Brenton concluded.