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Erdogan to focus on domestic issues, interaction on Syria to slow down — Russian expert

Grigory Lukyanov ruled out any "chill in relations" between Russia and Turkey

MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/. The interaction between Turkey and Russia within the framework of multilateral formats on Syria may slow down, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will focus on domestic politics during his new term in office, a researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies, told TASS on Monday.

"The pace of bilateral cooperation on economic projects will remain high. However, the efficiency may temporarily decrease, the rate of progress will slow down on the issues of multilateral formats, including Syria, where, in addition to Russia and Turkey, there is a third or fourth party," Grigory Lukyanov opined.

The analyst believes that Erdogan will focus on domestic politics, on countering the economic crisis and dealing with the aftermath of the recent devastating earthquake during his new term. "Foreign policy will be put on the backburner. Work with Russia on international issues will continue, but we will see some decrease in activity," Lukyanov stressed.

"In recent months, Turkey has done a lot to meet Russia halfway on the Syrian dossier, with certain concessions being made. However, a meeting between Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Assad failed to materialize because of the lack of political will not only from Damascus, but also from Erdogan. Nevertheless, there has been progress; now the pace will simply slow down," he added.

The expert ruled out any "chill in relations" between Russia and Turkey. "Today, trade with Russia is much more profitable for Turkey than any potential development of relations with European states. Under these conditions, Ankara will try to speed up a number of projects that are being developed with Moscow on a bilateral basis," the expert noted.

A runoff presidential election was held in Turkey on Sunday, May 28. Ahmet Yener, who heads Turkey’s highest election authority, the Supreme Election Council, said late on Sunday that with 99.43% of the ballots counted, Tayyip Erdogan got 52.14%, and opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu - 47.86%.