An Overview of Turkish and Russian Relations

The relations between Russia and Turkey have long been a topic of interest. Despite being close international allies in the post-cold war era, the relationship between the two countries has not always been so pacific. There is a long historical legacy of animosity, and relations over the last decade have been strained in a way not seen in many decades.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Sochi on 13th November 2017. Although the meeting between the two leaders was mostly focused on Syria, Putin began the meeting by addressing the state of Turkish-Russian relations.

"I want to note at the beginning of our meeting he announced, “that our relations can be considered practically completely restored.”

2014: The Ukrainian Crisis

Relations between the two countries entered a difficult phase during the Ukrainian crisis. Turkey was put in a difficult position when tensions between the Russian authorities and the Crimean Tatars started to emerge after the annexation of Crimea. Russia imposed a travel ban preventing Mustafa Jemilev, a Tatar leader, from entering the Crimea, leading to protests by Crimean Tatars demanding to have the ban lifted.

Jemilev sought the help of Turkish authorities after being banned from Crimea, and Turkey, which until now had mostly stayed quiet throughout the Ukrainian crisis, broke its silence for the first time. Erdogan made a statement on behalf of the Crimean Tatars, stressing the importance importance of protecting their rights in Crimea. Many commented that the statement was a carefully worded one, designed to not strain Turkey's relations with Russia.

Overall, Turkey was careful not to damage its relations with Russia throughout the Ukrainian crisis. Despite the tensions that occurred between the two countries, mainly as a result of the Crimean Tatar issue, Turkey and Russia still remained close allies.

2015: Russia Intervenes in the Syrian War

Russia and Turkey had different intentions when it came to the outcome of the Syrian civil war. While Russia supported the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey wanted to remove him from power. Russia intervened in Syria to provide support to Assad in 2015. This came as a blow to Turkey, which has been supporting the rebel groups in Syria seeking to overthrow the regime. The differing viewpoints of the two countries on the Syrian issue created tensions, and was a major factor affecting the their relations.

In November 2015 Turkey shot down one of Russia's war planes near the Turkish-Syrian border, claiming that the plane had crossed into Turkish air space and posed a "national threat" for the country. Putin described Turkey's action to shoot down the plane as a "stab in the back" and demanded an apology from Erdogan for months after the incident.

Relations between the two countries significantly deteriorated after this incident. Russia responded by imposing harsh economic sanctions against Turkey, which included restrictions on Turkish citizens right to work in and travel to Russia, restrictions on traded goods to Turkey, and advising Russians to avoid traveling to Turkey. Russia's sanctions had significant effects for the Turkish economy, as Russia is one of the closest trading partners of Turkey; in 2014 alone, Turkish exports to Russia equaled around 6 billion dollars and around 4.4 million Russians visited Turkey.

2016: Turkey Apologises to Russia

After refusing to apologise for over a year, Turkey relented in June 2016 and issued an apology over downing the Russian jet plane, in the form of a letter from Erdogan to Putin. According to the Kremlin, Erdogan expressed his condolences to the family of the Russian pilot killed in the incident, and extended his willingness to restore the relations between Russia and Turkey. Relations did indeed start to normalise after this. Russia lifted most of the economic sanctions it imposed against Turkey in 2015, signalling a decrease in tensions between the two countries. And when a coup d'etat took place in Turkey in July 2016, Russia became one of the first countries to issue a statement condemning the coup attempt.

Such a show of solidarity would have seemed surprising just a year earlier. But the two countries' immediate tensions have now largely been resolved, with positions on Syria even nearing convergence, and this has allowed their regime's similarities to become more obvious. Both countries now have strongman rulers committed to resisting western dominance, and may now be finding that working in alignment may be a much more mutually beneficial way to achieve this goal

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