RUSSIA AND TURKEY CONSIDER STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
RIA Novosti
17:1813/01/2010
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who has come to Russia on
a two-day visit, will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday to sign agreements on multifaceted
privileged partnership, also described as strategic partnership. The
latter implies political cooperation and even regular ministerial
meetings.
The question of which of the two countries needs oil and gas pipeline
friendship more is no longer on the agenda. Everything has become
so mixed up in this area that it is very difficult to say where the
pipes end and policy begins.
This time, Erdogan and Putin will discuss major projects like the South
Stream and Blue Stream natural gas pipelines and the construction of
Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.
Construction of South Stream, which is to ship Russian natural gas
to Greece, Italy and Austria across the Black Sea, is to begin in
November 2010. The second leg of Blue Stream will export Russian gas
to Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus via Turkey.
The talks in Moscow will also focus on the $1.5 billion Samsun-Ceyhan
pipeline to bring Caspian oil to the Mediterranean via Turkey and on
extending contracts for the purchase of Russian gas.
Taken together, these contracts will turn Turkey into the largest
energy hub in the Caspian region, Southern Europe and the Middle East.
Russia will now have two major energy partners, Germany in the north
(Nord Stream) and Turkey in the south (South Stream). No wonder Europe
becomes jittery every time Turkish president or prime minister goes
to Russia, or their Russian counterparts visit Turkey.
Europe assumes that Turkey is leaning increasingly toward Russia and
fears that this may revive Russia’s "imperial ambitions."
Turkey has indignantly rejected such accusations, pointing out that
it has signed a deal on the EU-backed rival pipeline Nabucco. It
does not intend to give up the project, and Prime Minister Erdogan
reputedly intends to invite Russia to join the Nabucco project during
the ongoing visit.
In fact, the EU is pushing Turkey toward Russia by putting off its
admission to the European Union. Turkey started accession talks
in 2005 but has so far advanced only in 12 of the 35 political and
economic areas where each candidate is obliged to carry out reforms
to adjust them to the EU standards.
Last year, France and Germany said they were not eager to admit a
country with a 60-million Muslim population to the EU.
In short, Turkey is unlikely to join the EU in the next ten years,
which is why it is looking for an alternative option in strengthening
its political and economic standing in the region. And it cannot do
this without Russia’s assistance.
Turkey can easily attain its goal if it becomes the oil and gas
dispatcher for Southern Europe and the Middle East.
It has been trying for years to get a standing in the Caucasus, which
does not have a regional leader, and coordination of positions with
Russia could help it attain its goal.
So far, Azerbaijan has been leaning toward Turkey and Iran, Armenia
has always had very close ties with Russia, and Georgia has focused
on NATO and the United States. It is especially dangerous when these
South Caucasus states move (or are pulled, as in the case of Georgia)
in different directions, as the 2008 war in South Ossetia showed.
If Turkey and Russia move on from coordinating energy policies to
regional security, this could encourage the region to consider creating
a regional security structure with clearly defined responsibilities
and rights in relations with neighbors. The OSCE, the EU and the UN
have failed to do this, so why cannot Russia and Turkey have a go in
the framework of a Caucasian stability forum, which Turkey proposed
establishing last year?
Europe, NATO, the United States, Asia and the Muslim world have always
been wary of Turkey’s relations with Russia.
Turkey is a unique country in terms of its relations with Russia. As
part of the Ottoman Empire since the 14th century, Turkey has had
alternating periods of hostile and almost brotherly relations with
Russia. We have grown used to this love-hate relationship, and are
currently enjoying the benefits of its positive phase.
Turkey is the only NATO country with which Russia has signed over 60
treaties, agreements and other documents promoting friendship. The
two countries maintain regular contacts at the political, including
government, level as well as in the economy, where their relations
range from fishing to oil, gas and nuclear energy.
And now they are considering multifaceted strategic partnership,
possibly influenced by the unfailing attraction of hydrocarbons.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and do not
necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
