Valdai Club

“Turkey is not a country that can change the balance of power in the world, but if you ask the question whether Turkey deserves membership in BRICS – yes, it does”, former Turkish foreign minister Yaşar Yakış told valdaiclub.com.

Russia has always been an important player, but since a few years it has become the major game-maker in Syria. Only Russia and Iran has a legitimate military presence on the Syrian soil, because they are invited by the Syrian authorities. Turkey and the U.S. have to withdraw their forces after the crisis.

Russia, Turkey and Iran are cooperating genuinely, but their position are not identical either: Turkey does not want the biggest Kurdish political party in Syria, Democratic Union Party (PYD), to be invited to the Congress of the Syrian People and Turkish President Erdogan voiced this concern during the press conference after the trilateral summit in Sochi

Turkey re-adjusted its Syria policy to the realities in the field by adhering to the trilateral agreement in Astana on 15 September. This important step in the right direction coincided with other developments in Turkey’s European and transatlantic relations. It also coincided with another major decision by Turkey to buy from Russia S-400 missiles, which are the most advanced surface-to-air missiles that are developed so far.

Turkey’s constitutional referendum, with its very close 51–49 percent result, institutionalized the existing political power balance and is unlikely to make President Recep Tayyip Erdogan take more steps that stray from the wishes of his power base, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), former Foreign Minister of Turkey Yaşar Yakış told valdaiclub.com in a telephone interview.

The Astana meeting was aiming at securing a ceasefire that would allow the political reform process to start in Syria. The fact that the Syrian regime and the representatives of the armed opposition were able to sit around a negotiation table is already a success in itself. The representatives of the opposition insist that they will not sign a communiqué until the regime forces stop bombing their positions, the sieges of several rebel held areas is lifted and the prisoners are released. The representatives of the regime and of the opposition refused to negotiate face to face. Minor violations of ceasefire and mutual recriminations between the Syrian government and the opposition may also continue after the meeting. However this should not be perceived as a collapse of the process.

Turkish perception of the Eurasian Union has two parts. One is pan-Turkism; the other is the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States. Since Kazakhstan is a member of both the EAEU and the Turkic Council, could Turkey also join the EAEU? The EAEU is a promising organization that is gaining credibility on Turkey’s doorstep.

For the first time a Russian diplomat is killed on Turkish soil. It is a new and tragic event in our shared history. For the first time a high-ranking Russian diplomat murder happened in Ankara and, more importantly, there is a question to the government - why they could pass such a person at the event? This indicates to poor security policy, it creates a negative image. Despite this, the Turkish-Russian relations should continue in a constructive spirit,

The operation of the Turkish troops looks as a result of chains of agreements, which included all players in the region.