Yesterday's meeting of the Russian and Turkish presidents, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is the beginning of a complex process of restoring our relations, including in trade, economic, energy and other spheres, the deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Andrey Baklanov, told Vestnik Kavkaza.
"I think what happened has a long-term political and psychological effect and it is forcing us to exercise caution in all areas of our cooperation," the diplomat suggested.
"I think it is a useful process, not only in the format of the Russian-Turkish relations, but also in a broader sense, because the current system of international relations is characterized by the instability of partners. That is why, it is necessary to build a very realistic, balanced and reliable system of relations with foreign partners. Such a system, which would protect us no matter what the developments are, including any subjective factors," Andrey Baklanov said.
"Right now, the actual focus will be on the preparations for a full meeting of the intergovernmental commission and work in certain areas at an expert level, including issues related to evaluating to what degree relevant Turkish services are ready to ensure the safety of our tourists. Of course, Turkey should clarify its position on the issue of counterterrorism and the situation in Syria," the diplomat explained.
Regarding a possible Russia-Turkey-Azerbaijan format, proposed by Erdogan at the meeting, the Advisor to the deputy chairman of the Federation Council said that there is absolutely nothing new in this proposal. "If this proposal means some useful actions on the part of Turkey's, then it is a good thing. If it is just one of those 'fancy' suggestions to demonstrate a potential, it is a different story. We should wait for concrete actions. But the main thing now is to deal with those concerns we have regarding Turkey's position on the war on terror and deescalating the situation around Syrian," Andrey Baklanov believes.
Answering whether Turkey is ready to sacrifice its European aspirations for the sake of friendship with Russia, the diplomat said: "We should not oppose these trends. I think that these alternatives are artificial. Politicians should be clever enough to have normal, friendly relations in every political direction, and not at the expense of the partner".
During the conversation, our correspondent asked the expert, whether he sees any regularity in the diplomatic marathon of the Russian president. He met with the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Iran in Baku, then with Erdogan, today he will meet with Serzh Sargsyan.
"It is improving the situation on the southern, south-eastern and south-western parts of our borders. But these are quite reasonable and obvious priority lines of our policy. Each of these meetings is a normal occurence, these are useful formats that complement each other," Andrey Baklanov summed up.
