By Vestnik Kavkaza
The number of Russian businessmen who deal with the shuttle trade of Turkish goods reduced in January by 75% in comparison with the same period last year because of the devaluation of the ruble. However, Turkey hopes that trade contacts will be restored, just as they did after the economic crisis of 1998. However, along with “shuttle traders”, Moscow and Ankara are concerned about the construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline and geopolitical problems.
Mikhail Yemelyanov, deputy head of the Russian State Duma committee for economic policy, innovative development and entrepreneurship, thinks that the problems Erdogan faces are the reactions of the United States to the rise of Turkey and its balanced foreign policy: “The United States does not like too much what Erdogan is doing in the Islamic world, his contacts with Islamic states, and, of course, the Americans do not like the position of Erdogan and the Turkish government, his policy on the Black Sea. Because Turkey took a very balanced position during the Georgian conflict; the Foreign Minister, now the Prime Minister, Davutoglu proposed a ’two plus three' format for the settlement, i.e. the three Caucasian republics, Russia and Turkey. But the subtext of the plan excluded Europe and America. The Turks do not welcome the interference of the European Union, not to mention the United States, in Black Sea affairs. Indeed, during the conflicts in Georgia and Ukraine, they scrupulously complied with the 1936 Montreaux Convention, and ships of non-Black Sea states can appear in the Black Sea in very limited numbers. This is good. Well, in general, they do not join sanctions against Russia. It means that our relations are stable and Turkey follows its national interests. In foreign relations, they are not a puppet of the United States, as many European countries are.”
Veniamin Popov, the director of the Center of the Partnership of Civilizations at the MGIMO Institute of International Relations, says relations between Turkey and the West began to worsen in the early 200s, and the current situation is a logical continuation of the process: “It is a breach that is being aggravated between the West and the Islamic world at the moment. The breach is growing, we can say. It started on September 11, 2001 - that is the conventional date – and continues now. The world is not European-centered now. And this is reflected in Turkey’s independent policy; and the process causes a very negative reaction from the West. The point is that these different values of two civilizations – the West, which is losing its positions, and the world in general, are changing very fast. Five hundred years ago, it was a European-centered world. But today different countries are becoming leaders in world politics. The West doesn’t want to yield its positions. It is a difficult and painful process for the West. It led to military intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya. On the other hand, conflicts are being stirred up – Syria, Yemen, Sudan and Somali. The breach will grow. And today Turkey plays a special role, as Turkey is one of the leading Islamic states and will always remain so.”
