Russian Minister for Economic Development Alexey Ulyukayev said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Nihat Zeybekci that Turkey has started talks on formation of a free trade zone with the Customs Union. Aydin Sezer, a Turkish economist, ex-head of the Department for Foreign Contacts of the Main Free Zone Directorate of the Turkish Commerce Agency, clarified that Ulyukayev's declaration did not mean a lifting of customs barriers between Turkey and the Customs Union. Turkey has a free trade agreement with the EU, being part of the European customs space since 1996. It cannot unilaterally declare the formation of a free trade zone with Kazakhstan, Belarus or Russia unless these countries sign a free trade agreement with the EU.
Sezer noted that the statement was more of a political declaration. He pointed out that Russia had invested huge sums in the Turkish economy in the last 10 years. They have formed good ties in energy, sales of military equipment, security. Russia is not a competitor of the EU on the Turkish market. The expert added that Turkey and Europe had 55 years of cooperation but the EU was declining in terms of economy and trade and Turkey had disappointments with it.
Togrul Ismail, a docent of the Faculty of International Relations of the TOBB University of Economics and Technology, expressed confidence that forming a free trade zone between Turkey and the Customs Union was possible and depended on the scheme they would choose. He reminded that Turkey had free trade agreements with many non-EU countries. The Turkish expert sees no problems in realizing Ulyukayev's idea. According to the analyst, a working group will be formed in September to study the prospects for cooperation of Turkey with Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
Ismail noted that Turkey had the right to payments in national currency and had already proposed paying for products using its own currency. A detailed scheme for cooperation with the Customs Union is still under discussions and it is too early to speculate, Togrul Ismail concluded.
