ANKARA, July 12. /TASS/. The geopolitical dialogue between Turkey and Russia has little place to go from here, as cooperation is severely limited by the current environment and Western sanctions, Turkish political analyst and member of the Valdai Discussion Club platform Hasan Selim Ozertem told TASS.
"Turkey initially tried to pursue a balanced policy between Russia, Ukraine and the West, tried not to break trade with Russia. However, we have seen intensified pressure on banks recently, particularly from the US and the European Union. The West expects partners to provide financial help to Ukraine. And here, though Turkey tries to conduct a balanced dialogue both with Ukraine and with Russia, we see the pressure from the West rising. This makes it virtually nonsensical for Turkey to play a mediating role in talks on ceasefire in Ukraine. The scope for dialogue between Ankara and Moscow is narrowing, and our relations may deteriorate," he said.
"The relations between Turkey and Russia seem to have reached their limit at this point," the expert noted. "Both sides, wanting to discover new cooperation areas, are simply hitting a wall. Bilateral trade is faltering, Ukraine-related pressure intensifies, efforts to efficiently normalize the situation in the Syrian direction have thus far been unsuccessful. The area of energy cooperation through NPP remains more or less active. Whereas the issue of the grain corridor, for example, which Turkey wants to revive, bumps up against an array of structural problems. Overall the scope for dialogue between Ankara and Moscow has narrowed and keeps narrowing," he explained.
However, Ozertem did not rule out that the leadership of the two countries could find new areas for cooperation, though to do this it is necessary to hold full-fledged top-level talks. "But from the viewpoint of previous dialogue, we have reached our limit today. Political willpower is necessary to restart. That said, I think that the potential to re-energize relations may lie in the area of Syrian settlements," he added.
"The possible start of normalization of relations between Turkey and the Syrian administration, President Bashar Assad, may allow revising a number of restrictions that Moscow and Ankara have, as well as open new areas in Russian-Turkish relations," the expert said. "There have been contacts of Russian representatives in Damascus, positive statements by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on this issue. Repeated activation of the work within the Astana process may provide a possibility for Turkey to work with Russia, at least on the Middle Eastern issue," he said.