Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed this Thursday in Kiev his offer to host a summit bringing together Ukraine and Russia to avoid an armed conflict.
The diplomatic ballet continues in Kiev. After British Prime Minister Boris Johnson two days ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also traveled to Ukraine on Thursday. ” We do not want a war between Ukraine and Russia and I hope we can resolve the dispute peacefully “, he said in the preamble. The Turkish president thus proposed to organize peace talks between Russians and Ukrainians, inviting his counterparts Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin to Turkey.
The Turkish leader asserts his membership in NATO and his good relations with Kiev to pose as a matchmaker. He had already offered his service offers on several occasions, saying that by ” bringing the two leaders together, we can pave the way for the return of peace “.
Everything to lose
It must be said that Turkey has everything to lose from a conventional war between the two countries. Such a conflict could ignite the powder in the Black Sea area, which is Ankara’s other strategic garden. It could also hurt him economically. Turkey is indeed dependent on Russian natural gas, which represents around half of its total imports, political scientist Sinan Ülgen reminds RFI. Its tourism sector also derives a large part of its revenue from Russian visitors.
But Ankara also maintains sustained trade relations with Kiev – nearly $ 6 billion in exchange in 2021 –, Turkey in particular supplying combat drones to Ukraine. This Thursday, in addition to the expected signing of a free trade agreement between their two countries, Presidents Zelensky and Erdogan also formalized the construction in Ukraine of a factory for Turkish Bayraktar attack drones. Kyiv thus benefiting from a transfer of leading military technology.
The Kremlin therefore takes a dim view of the strengthening of cooperation between the two capitals, notes our correspondent in Kiev, Stephane Siohan. A new axis that risks changing the balance in the region. The Russians observe very closely the small gifts of the Turks to the Ukrainians.