MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/. Turkey's foreign policy been a major advantage for incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and achieving a possible extension of the grain deal would only further increase his chances of winning the second round of the presidential election, Amur Gadzhiev, director of the Center for Contemporary Turkish Studies, opined in a conversation with TASS on Monday.

"Foreign policy as such is one of the trump cards in Erdogan's arsenal, something his rival does not have," Gadzhiev said. "In his foreign policy, Kemal K·l·cdaroglu is drawing a picture that is not very attractive for Turkish society: Turkey’s return to the role it played in the context of the collective West, to be more specific - the prospect of once again becoming an outpost of the collective West in the southeast again, rejecting a multi-course track and no longer positioning itself as an independent center of the multipolar world order," the director explained.

With this in mind, the extension of the grain deal, which expires on May 18, is an important task for the Turkish president, the expert believes. It would give Erdogan an additional advantage ahead of the crucial vote. "You could say that this will increase his chances," Gadzhiev said.

Within this context, the grain deal gives the country's leader a chance to talk about Ankara’s global importance, to underline its role in solving the world's food problems. This initiative is beneficial for Turkey both politically and economically, since it turns the republic into a food, energy and transport-logistics hub. "And this is yet another reminder to the West of the role Turkey plays in the mega-region," the expert pointed out.

He also highlighted that Turkey's recent achievements in its foreign policy and the growth of its influence in the world were made possible due to close cooperation with Russia. "This concerns not only the grain deal, but also the Astana process, the Karabakh problem, the Libyan issue and the general security architecture of the Middle East region. Through close cooperation with Russia, Turkey is enhancing its role on the regional and world stage. And, accordingly, it will not give up on that," Gadzhiyev summed up.

"Sound-minded people who have Turkey’s national interests at heart are interested in the extension of the grain deal and will try to do everything possible to ensure that the Russian part is respected and properly implemented," the expert noted. "We can assume that in the case Erdogan wins, Turkey will continue to pursue a balanced policy and will try to ensure that the conditions of the Istanbul agreements, which involve Russian interests and the Russian part of the deal, are implemented," he stressed.

Sunday’s elections in Turkey

Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections were held on Sunday. According to the latest updates from the Supreme Election Council, incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has received 49.4% of the vote in the presidential election and the main opposition candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has gotten 44.96%. Votes continue to be counted; 99.4% of the ballot boxes have been opened.

The runoff election is set for May 28.