How did Putin hit Türkiye's 'weak spot'?

Russian President Vladimir Putin has achieved his goal when the Turkish President was forced to give up his ambitions as a power in the Middle East.

Russian President Putin, Turkish President Erdogan.

In President Putin's success, Russia's battle-hardened military force, as well as Putin's personal economic and political acumen, play a very important role, commented the German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN).

Now, Ankara has not only abandoned its ambitions in Syria but also joined forces to help Russia resolve this crisis.

According to DWN, during a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan in the resort city of Sochi, Russia, host country President Putin appreciated Ankara's positive role in resolving the Syrian crisis.

“The joint activities of Russia, Iran and Turkey as guarantors of the Astana Process (negotiations on the future of Syria, which are usually held in the Kazakh capital Astana) continue to produce concrete results. The level of violence has clearly decreased and favorable conditions have been created for the promotion of inter-Syrian dialogue under the auspices of the UN Security Council,” the Kremlin leader said.

During the meeting in Sochi, the Russian and Turkish presidents discussed the possibility of lifting the sanctions imposed after the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber, as well as Russian visa restrictions on Turkish citizens. In addition, the leaders of the two sides discussed the implementation of the joint project to build the Akuyu nuclear power plant with the participation of Russia's Rosatom corporation.

At the press conference afterwards, the Russian President affirmed the importance of Russia and the US reaching a consensus on the Joint Statement on resolving the Syrian issue, which emphasized the need to completely destroy the IS terrorist organization and maintain Syria's sovereignty.

This document was signed by the US and Russia within the framework of the 2017 APEC Summit held in Da Nang, Vietnam. Although before meeting with Russian President Putin, Turkish President Erdogan criticized the US-Russia Joint Statement on Syria, later, Erdogan himself acknowledged the importance of this document.

According to DWN, Türkiye's initial opposition to the US-Russia Joint Statement on Syria was understandable because the document would make it difficult for Türkiye to continue playing an independent role in the region. In addition, Washington is putting pressure on Turkish President Erdogan by accusing him of corruption.

Meanwhile, by intervening in Syria, Russia has prevented Ankara's actions, as well as Türkiye's territorial expansion ambitions. Türkiye had previously wanted to seize the northern territories of Syria to fulfill its ambition of restoring the Ottoman Empire.

However, Russia’s intervention in Syria has undermined this ambition of Türkiye. Along with military actions, Russian President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have also paid great attention to diplomatic efforts to avoid further conflict. Thanks to that, Russia has forced Turkey to change its original policy and undermined Mr. Erdogan’s ambition.

Russia has never openly supported the Kurds in Syria, expressing its support for Syria’s territorial integrity, which is in the national interests of Türkiye and Syria. The Turkish government itself has always been concerned that the disintegration of Syria could lead to the emergence of a Kurdistan state and destabilize Türkiye’s border region.

After Russia began its intervention in Syria, Türkiye was forced to reduce its support for the forces fighting against Damascus. In return, Ankara was given the “green light” to carry out the “Euphrates Shield” operation in northern Syria to prevent the establishment of a corridor of Kurdish forces. According to DWN, in this regard, Türkiye’s interests coincided with those of Syria.

Russian S-400 missile defense system

Thus, through flexible political calculations, Russia has achieved its goal of forcing Türkiye to abandon its superpower ambitions. Ankara has no longer insisted on overthrowing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Instead, the Turkish government has focused on strengthening its borders, even purchasing Russian S-400 air defense systems.

By bringing Türkiye into the Astana talks on Syria, Russia has acknowledged Türkiye as a key player in resolving the Syrian crisis. In return, Türkiye has taken responsibility for eliminating IS elements in the city of Idlib. The Turkish military has begun an offensive against IS in Idlib with the support of the Russian Air Force.

The economic benefits brought by Russia also contributed significantly to the change in Türkiye's foreign policy. Russia's previous food embargo against Turkey, as well as restrictions on the number of Russian tourists traveling to Türkiye, played a significant role in this.

“The smooth and flexible combination of military, political, economic and diplomatic measures is the “Achilles heel” for Russia to bury Türkiye's superpower ambitions in Syria and the Middle East,” DWN concluded.

According to Infornet.vn