RUSSIAN ADVISOR CALLS FOR ECONOMIC UNION WITH TURKEY, SOME POST-SOVIET STATES

Today’s Zaman
Sept 12 2008
Turkey

Sergey A. Markov, an advisor to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin,
said Turkey should form an economic alliance with Russia and former
Soviet countries.

Attending an international security conference yesterday in Ä°stanbul
organized by a Turkish think tank, Markov told Today’s Zaman that he
is speaking to Turkish officials about the idea of starting such an
economic union.

"Turkey should join an economic union with Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Moldova, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan … and Georgia,
too. Who is Mikhail Saakashvili? He is not there to stay. He will go
like Hitler!" said Markov, a consultant with the Security Council for
the President of Russia and director of the Institute for Political
Studies in Moscow.

Markov said Russia has reservations because neither Turkey nor the
European Union condemned Georgian President Saakashvili or declared him
a "war criminal" following Georgia’s attack on autonomous South Ossetia
in early August, which resulted in a crushing Russian assault there.

He also warned that Turkey should not rely on the EU because it will
not accept Turkey as a full member. He said Turkey could still have
relations with the EU and continue to have its NATO role.

"We don’t want to have a conflict with NATO, and we like the EU. They
need our gas and we need their money," he said.

He also warned that Turkey should not rely on the EU because it will
not accept Turkey as a full member. He said Turkey could still have
relations with the EU and continue to have its NATO role.

"Let’s open our borders for trade. Only poor, angry and hungry
people want to fight. And the EU would never want to deal with them,"
he added.

On the other hand, he said, both the Russian and Turkish economies are
compatible and their "political cultures have similarities." He said
Turkey and Russia would complement each other in many areas. "We have
energy for Turkey’s needs. We have many construction opportunities for
Turkish firms. We need labor, and Turkey can provide it," he commented.

He also said that Turkey’s Caucasus initiative has a chance of success
if it includes Russia and excludes the United States. "The United
States is a dangerous power. The neocons in Washington are the main
threat to international stability."

He added that a comeback for the Cold War is an American desire,
not a Russian one, as some claim. "Russia now has billionaires,
not communists. We don’t want separation from the West."

Markov was participating in a panel discussion yesterday afternoon
titled "Geopolitics of Energy" at the Arı Movement’s 10th
International Security Conference.

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