Who benefits from discord between Russia and Turkey?

The political conflict between Ankara and Moscow due to the Russian Su-24 downed in Syria by the Turkish Air Force is gaining momentum at the highest level. Without expressing official condolences over the death of the Russian servicemen, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Russian reaction to this incident is "emotional" and "unworthy of politicians." At the same time, the day before he said that Turkey was against an escalation of the conflict and supported "a peaceful and a diplomatic solution."

Due to the absence of any diplomatic reaction from Ankara, Russian President Vladimir Putin said "We received neither apologies from the authorities of Turkey, nor any proposals for reparations for damage, nor any promises to punish those who committed the crime. It seems that the Turkish government is deliberately driving Russian-Turkish relations into a dead end."

However, is Russia dealing with an independent political player in this conflict? Are there sufficient reasons to believe that Turkish President Erdogan tried to achieve any national goals and acted on his own? Experts have doubts in this regard, noting the absence of benefit to the Turkish state and the Turkish nation from the destruction of the Russian aircraft and the Russian pilot.

For example, a researcher at the Institute of Contemporary International Studies of the Diplomatic Academy Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Nina Belyakova, said in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that the conflict between Russia and Turkey is beneficial to other countries, and it is likely that the order to attack the Russian Su-24 was dictated from outside. "It increases some doubts regarding the independence of the Turkish political elite, as well as the negative consequences of the destruction of the Russian aircraft by the Turkish Air Forces, both for Turkey and for Russian-Turkish relations," she explained.

The Berlin political scientist Heiko Langner drew attention to the haste in which Germany supported Turkey's action. "The government of Germany should not rush into an expression of solidarity with Ankara. There are conflicting reports about the violation of Turkish airspace by the Russian combat aircraft. The fact is that at the time of the missile attack by Turkey, the Russian Su-24 aircraft was in Syrian airspace and fell in Syria. In this respect, the destruction of the Russian aircraft cannot be justified," Langner said.

The analyst underlined that the guarantee of a successful fight against IS is the unity of the forces which oppose it. "The participation of the Bundeswehr in the military mission of the international coalition against ISIS was discussed in Berlin today. It doesn't solve the problem of terrorism, but only provokes it. The fight against ISIS cannot be successful, as there are still serious contradictions: what strategy should be used in order to solve the Syrian conflict and who should participate in this political process? The easiest way would be to destroy the economic basis of the existence of ISIS," he concluded.