Russia 'won' the election in Türkiye

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Tass

Russia’s most important foreign policy partner, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has won a third term in office. The result has not been particularly joyful in Western capitals, which had secretly hoped during the Turkish presidential election that Erdogan’s 20-year reign would come to an end. But for Russia, it means a lot.

In a telegram published on the Kremlin's website, Russian President V. Putin congratulated Mr. Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election as President of Türkiye.

"The victory in the elections is a natural result of Erdogan's selfless work as the head of Türkiye, and is clear evidence of the Turkish people's support for Erdogan's efforts to strengthen national sovereignty and pursue an independent foreign policy," President Putin congratulated in the telegram.

The Russian leader expressed readiness to continue constructive dialogue on bilateral, regional and international agendas. President Putin stressed that Russia attaches great importance to the consistent implementation of planned joint projects, first of all the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and the creation of a gas hub in Turkey.

For the West, this bilateral cooperation is seen as a kind of "constant", an inevitable consequence. The British newspaper Newsweek commented: "Putin won the election in Türkiye".

Western countries and Türkiye's opposition believe that Moscow actually intervened to help Recep Erdogan win, including by extending the Black Sea grain deal by two months - which was seen as bringing revenue to Turkish flour, as well as Erdogan's reputation and position as a mediator.

However, in reality, Russia did not interfere in any elections. Most Russian political scientists support President Erdogan, not because they see the Turkish leader as a "pro-Russian" politician, but because they see him as a "less harsh" person. In the Russian political circles, Mr. Erdogan is a pragmatic politician who has tried not to join the US and the Western sanctions plans against Russia.

"Ankara has tried not to anger Moscow, and to stay away from the sanctions war as much as possible. Türkiye has also sought to protect its economic interests and assert itself as an "honest broker", maintaining relative neutrality and good relations with all sides. Economically, this has helped double trade turnover with Russia, and put Turkey in second place, after China, in trade with Russia, in 2022," said Pavel Shlykov, Associate Professor of the Department of History of the Near and Middle East.

Either way, President Erdogan's re-election is crucial not just for Türkiye, but for NATO, and any world order that emerges from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The immediate problem that the West has in mind is to prevent President Erdogan from getting any closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Immediately after winning the election, President Erdogan also pledged to carry out the project to build an international gas center in Türkiye as previously proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.