Turkey will never accept Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and supports Ukraine’s perspective for membership of NATO, welcoming the political-military alliance’s recognition of Ukraine as an “enhanced opportunities partner.”
Turkey recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and insists that Armenia withdraw immediately.
Turkey will hold its ground in parts of Syria until a lasting peace is achieved.
All three positions do not endear Turkey to the Kremlin, to say the least, running counter to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy.
But Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yağmur Ahmet Güldere said his nation is not trying to pick a fight with Moscow. It’s just upholding its principles and interests — and taking what it sees as moral stances.
“It’s not directed against any third party or at the expense of the third country or against any third country,” Guldere emphasized in an interview with the Kyiv Post ahead of Republic Day of Turkey. “We have our differences with Russia on many issues, but wherever we find common ground, we do cooperate.”
The Oct. 29 holiday celebrates the day in 1923 that marks the founding of modern Turkey. Festivities would normally include fireworks, concerts, parades, cultural programs and special school events. In Kyiv, it would usually mean a grand reception attended by hundreds at the Hilton Kyiv ballroom, but not during the age of COVID‑19. Of course, the holiday also venerates Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of the Turkish republic and its first president, from 1923 until his death in 1938.
As Turkey celebrates, including 25,000 of its citizens living in Ukraine, Kyiv is keenly aware of how much it needs and appreciates its Black Sea neighbor of 80 million people.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is fresh off a two-day visit this month to Turkey, his third visit with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, since the Ukrainian leader took office only 17 months ago. It is hard to think of another head of state with whom Zelensky has met more frequently. The health of their relationship was perhaps best symbolized by Zelensky’s presentation of the Yaroslav The Wise award, Ukraine’s highest honor, to Erdogan.
“We really have no slowing down from the coronavirus in terms of our bilateral relations with Ukraine,” the Turkish ambassador said.
This recent visit, preceded by lots of top-level preparatory meetings, yielded rich dividends.
One, of course, was Ankara’s unequivocal support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, reaffirming a joint declaration made on Erdogan’s visit to Kyiv on Feb. 3, 2020.
“We agree to continue our efforts towards de-occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as restoration Ukraine’s control over certain areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine,” according to the statement.
During the visit, Turkey looked approvingly at the inclusion of two prominent Crimean Tatars in Zelensky’s delegation — first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova and Mustafa Dzhemilev, a member of parliament. “Seeing Crimean Tatars in high positions like this is very pleasant,” he said.
Turkey backed up the declaration on Ukraine’s with defense and security agreements, including plans for joint production and sales of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as agreements on enhancing military communications. Moreover, Turkey is exploring the sale of a new generation of frigates to its Black Sea neighbor, which is building its military while fighting off a six-year Russian war.
Both nations see “great potential” in greater defense sector cooperation. “Turkey has taken great strides over the last 15 years to develop its national capabilities and foreign partners,” Guldere said. “When you look at Ukraine with its huge background and capabilities, it’s a natural partner.”
Also a key development, the ambassador said that Turkey is open to acquisitions, investment or joint production agreements, including with Motor Sich, the engines manufacturer, as well as Antonov aircraft, and other firms strategic to Ukraine’s defense.
“We basically are ready to look at any requests that come from Ukraine on that front,” he said.
Turkey has also been providing military training for Ukraine’s cadets and, in an annual humanitarian gesture, extending 10-day Mediterranean Sea holidays to about 150–200 Ukrainians — the widows and orphans of Ukrainian soldiers killed by Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as to soldiers wounded in battle.
Guldere laments that, given the regional tensions, military and political concerns have overtaken economic cooperation in the Black Sea region.
Trade deals
Both Ukraine and Turkey, however, know that they will never reach their annual goal of $10 billion in bilateral trade — more than double the current amount — unless they conclude a free trade agreement years in the making. Like all such deals, protectionist impulses and divergent interests on both sides have proven to be stubborn stumbling blocks.
“It’s long past time that Turkey and Ukraine conclude the free trade agreement,” he said, noting Zelensky’s assessment that the nations “are basically at the finish line.”
In the long run, Guldere predicted, the free trade agreement will make both countries’ economies more competitive.
Absent the agreement, and despite the COVID‑19 pandemic, Guldere said that the trade figures for the first eight months of 2020 are not bad — $1.3 billion in Turkish exports to Ukraine, $1.5 billion in Turkish imports from Ukraine.
Personal touch
The official meetings in Turkey were structured to allow both presidents to speak with each other one on one. Other meetings involved the two leaders meeting with the respective delegations from both nations. This visit also included a family dinner of Erdogan, Zelensky and the two first ladies.
“President Erdogan believes in the personal touch,” the ambassador said. “Without personal chemistry, these things don’t develop naturally. You cannot force two leaders to get together and spend long hours together in a confined space. This is not only a strategic partnership. It is something extra.”
“Turkish-Ukrainian relations are indeed going ahead at full speed.”
Syria
Other areas where Turkey’s interests differ from Russia, Ukraine’s greatest adversary, include Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of dispute between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Currently, Guldere said Turkish forces have been able to establish “a relative calm” in parts of Syria, although the humanitarian catastrophe continues unabated. COVID‑19 has made the situation worse because, with a lack of widespread testing, nobody knows how severe the epidemic is in Syria.
“We want the situation in Syria to be resolved on a lasting basis in a fair way at the earliest opportunity,” he said of the nine-year civil war in which Syrians opposed to dictator Bashar al-Assad have been ruthlessly bombed and suppressed by government forces using chemical weapons, with help from Russian force.
Neighboring Turkey still takes care of four million Syrian refugees inside its borders and another four million in a border region of Syria. After Turkish strikes on Syrian government forces, conditions have allowed 400,000 Syrians in Turkey — just about 10 percent — return home, he said.
Nagorno-Karabakh
Turkey clearly sides with Azerbaijan and objects to characterizations of the Nagorno-Karabakh region as anything but Azerbaijan’s territory, despite the presence of Armenians there.
“It’s very clear,” Guldere said, referring to four United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for Armenia to withdraw “completely, immediately and unconditionally.” Turkey’s strong support with Azeris, whom they consider “brothers,” has rattled the Kremlin, which sees itself as the mediator of the conflict and dominant power.
“Armenia needs to exit these territories,” he said.
Tourism hurting
Any visitor to Turkey quickly understands the prominent role of tourism in the economy. The clean, clear seas are among the sources of pride for Turks, including Guldere, calling the Mediterranean and Aegean seas like “swimming in an aquarium.”
This year, because of COVID‑19, visits could be down by some 70%. Turkey considers it a good year when 45 million people visit.
But one bright spot is Ukraine, which may ultimately send close to 1 million tourists to Turkey this year, still down from 1.5 million last year.
“We did the best we could under the circumstances,” he said, noting the opening up of flights between Ukraine and Turkey on July 1.
Turkey has imposed more stringent measures than Ukraine in fighting COVID‑19, giving it a lower infection rate. One such measure is heavy fines for those caught in public not wearing masks, ranging from $100 to $300 depending on the locality. Among the other “very decisive measures,” he said, are curfews.
But he acknowledges: “There’s a balance that every country is trying to find and finding that balance is not very easy.”
