Turkish MP: “The situation has changed, Russia is no longer an enemy, but a partner”
Russia is not an enemy of Turkey - the country has many mutually beneficial relations, therefore, in the conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, Turkey’s only role is to be a mediator.
Member of the Turkish Parliament Ozturk Yilmaz stated this on air on the Iceland Internet channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the politician, the presidents of Russia and Turkey even “synchronized watches” before the recent meeting between the leader of this country, Recep Erdogan, and the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky.
“Of course, Russia has its own interests in the region. Russia does not want Turkey to support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and oppose the annexation of Crimea. Russia also does not want Turkey to support any country in the region in which Ankara has influence and plays some important regional role. I think this is quite obvious.
Before Zelensky’s meeting with Erdogan, Putin called the Turkish president simply to assess the situation and what kind of support would be provided to Ukraine. On the other hand, Turkey also received Russia's reaction to this crisis and an idea of what it will be like in the future if Turkey intervenes in it. I think that Turkey's only role in the crisis between Ukraine and Russia can only be mediation.
We have common interests with Russia - we worked in Syria and Libya. Of course, we interacted on opposite sides and were not allies. On the other hand, we have the purchase of the S-400 defense missile system. This is also important because after that we had disputes with the US.
We also have economic ties with Russia and a tourist flow. Our relationship has deep roots. I do not agree that we responded to problems based on previous experience. The situation in the region has changed and Russia, which was considered an enemy during the Ottoman Empire, is now Turkey’s partner,” Yilmaz said.
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