Levent Kenez/Stockholm
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first interview with a Western journalist in two years, addressed events concerning Ukraine under Turkey’s mediation. Erdogan echoed Putin’s claim that former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled Ukraine, resulting in the failure of peace talks.
Last Friday Putin, in an interview with fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson, claimed that Johnson impeded peace negotiations. Putin alleged that Johnson, whom he described as possessing a pure heart but lacking a great mind, intervened during discussions in Istanbul in March 2022. According to Putin, Johnson allegedly persuaded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign a deal, suggesting that “it’s better to fight Russia.”
“To be honest, in President Putin’s statements, there is a noteworthy sense of sincerity. Throughout what we can refer to as the Istanbul process, we took every sincere step possible. We worked with a focused determination for results, but unfortunately, peace could not be achieved,” Erdogan told pro-government journalists onboard the plane returning from Egypt on Wednesday.
Erdogan highlighted their commitment to sustaining efforts towards peace, stating, “Before former UK prime minister Boris Johnson withdrew his support from the peace efforts , we collaborated and persisted in our efforts, albeit without success.”
Asserting that they have facilitated concrete results in advancing peace amid the Ukraine-Russia conflict thus far, Erdogan underscored the developments, ranging from prisoner exchanges to establishing a grain corridor.
Emphasizing their facilitation of meetings between the parties in Turkey on multiple occasions, Erdogan called for renewed efforts, stating, “We can convene again and unlock the door to peace through a solution-oriented process, devoid of external influences.”
“Recently, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron paid us a visit, and we discussed these matters with him. Should President Putin engage directly in dialogue with us during this process, or should Russia’s relevant ministers intervene, we will engage with them to navigate this process and achieve outcomes,” Erdogan added.
It was previously announced that Putin would visit Ankara on February 12, but Russian authorities said the visit was postponed until after the Russian presidential election in March. Following Ankara’s approval of Sweden’s joining NATO, the visit would be critical due to its timing. It was expected to cover various topics including renewal of the grain corridor, a natural gas hub project, Syria and the Caucasus.
During a meeting on the sidelines of the sixth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA) in the Kazakh capital of Astana in October 2022, Putin informed Erdogan that Turkey had become the most dependable route for gas supplies to Europe. He also proposed establishing a European gas hub in Turkey.
Ankara had been trying to convince Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, facilitated by Turkey and the UN. This initiative ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grain over the Black Sea during the war. However, Russia withdrew from the agreement in July 2023 and declared its lack of interest in reviving the deal.
NATO member Turkey previously announced that it would not participate in the sanctions imposed on Moscow by the United States and European Union due to its dependence on Russia for natural gas and also because it’s a favorite destination of millions of Russian tourists.
Previously defining the war between Russia and Ukraine as a “process,” Erdogan never said Russia invaded Ukraine. He also said he told his NATO counterparts that the West had provoked and underestimated Russian President Putin.
In 2022 during a Balkan tour, Erdogan criticized Europe’s underestimation of Russia, pointing out the consequences of Russia cutting off natural gas to Europe, resulting in sudden price hikes. He remarked that now there was widespread concern about how to manage the winter, implying a failure to consider these ramifications earlier.
Additionally, Erdogan accused European leaders of lacking foresight, saying, “Of course, Europe’s attitude towards Putin, the imposition of sanctions, has inevitably brought Putin to the point of saying ‘If you are doing this, I will do that,’ and Mr. Putin uses all the means and weapons at his disposal.”
Nordic Monitor previously reported that there has been a noteworthy surge in the creation of startup companies in Turkey by Russian and Iranian nationals, according to official statistics. This suggests strategic moves by Moscow and Tehran, viewing the Turkish market as a viable avenue to navigating and alleviating constraints imposed by Western sanctions.
Data from the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) reveal that Russians led in establishing 592 new companies in Turkey from January to August 2023. Predominantly structured as limited liability companies, these ventures position Russians at the forefront of foreign investors creating enterprises in the Turkish market. The majority of foreign-owned companies were classified under the category of “non-specialized wholesale trade,” indicating their establishment to engage in wholesale trade across a diverse range of products.
