Turkish Foreign Policy

Turkish Foreign Policy on Syria and Russia

I have been in Syria, Israel and Jordan during 1990-1999 due to my sales and marketing of industrial steam boilers. I spent a lot of time here. I got profitable jobs for the private company I worked at that time. We are in a business environment very similar to Turkey. This business environment had a well-functioning commercial climate to make good money. At the moment, maybe for the next 10-years you can not do business around Syria. Unfortunately not.

In the past, Syria was our natural market. Syria were our backyard to make business. Unfortunately, there is no longer Syrian market. Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Diar-el-Zor are now in ruins. How the new Syria will be formed, how it will develop, how it will become a market again, it is hard to predict. But if you want to avoid war, you always have to be ready for war.

Turks are not Arab, we are in a different environment, our languages are different. So it is very difficult for Turks to stand out in the Islamic world. We should not be surprised by the premises of the early Republic period, tested during the Second World War, verified, not to interfere with others' internal affairs, "Peace at home, Peace at world" principles. Being involved in other countries' internal affairs hurts us. Trade is stopped, millions of unemployed- poor- uneducated problem people came to us, as refugees, as immigrants. Rich immigrants did not stop in Turkey, they moved into Europe, America.

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There is a large Russian Naval Base in Tartus on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. This is where the Russians get the strongest logistical support in the Mediterranean. Assad government provided this area as a base to the Russians. All Russian warships are receiving logistical support, fuel, food here in the Mediterranean, maintenance is done here. Losing this base for the Russians is not acceptable. They will not negotiate by any means.

Further south is the Russian Khmeimin Air Base with two asphalt 3km runways beside Assad International Airport in the south-east of the city of Latakia. With the agreement between Syria and Russia, it was opened in 2015 indefinite period and free of charge. In this air base, there are 11 types of latest-generation SU-57, SU-25, SU-24, SU-22 Russian fighter planes ranging in number from 37-50. There are also numerous T-90 battle tanks and S-400 missiles here. Without knowledge of Russia, even birds can not fly.

There are only national interests in foreign policy. It is not our job to bring democracy to others. It is not our job to solve the internal problems of other countries. If we want to get along well with the Russians, we have to pay attention to the interests of the Russians, their red lines, their sensitivities. Russia is not only a transatlantic superpower, it is our closest neighbor, the most intensely commercial and social neighbor we are. Without paying attention to Russia's defense sensitivities, it is difficult to carry out the outpost in this region, it is almost impossible. Russia is no longer the old "Soviet Union". After 1989, they set up a democracy according to his own. You like it or not, they have their own electoral system, they have their own democratic scheme. Russian market economy is gradually settling down. Old "Comrade" Russians came out as the new businessman, the businesswoman, the business-people. There are no old Russian car makers in front of the Kremlin. Russian-made automobiles are no longer produced. They are all BMW, Mercedes, Audi. Russians have money to buy the best. They have their own space and nuclear technology.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, comes to Turkey often in daytime 8-hour work schedule. We wish he comes more often. We learn mutual interests, sensitivities, common business opportunities. We have so much to learn from each other. It is always necessary to keep all kinds of information exchange channels open.

Vladimir Putin is a very rational, very realistic person. He has Ph.D. degree from Leningrad-St.Petersburg University on International Law and Economics. He speaks German fluently. He also learned English. He knows the outside world. He knows what he wants.

These are important. We live in an age when the US Secretary of State can not speak any other language than English. The last US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, does not speak any other language than English. He does not feel obliged to know.

Our relations with Russia were not good during the cold war period. But now the walls are down, the cold war is over. There are currently thousands of qualified Turkish workers working in civil contracting services in Russia. There are marriages between Russians and Turks. Our Russian brides are the grandchildren of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky. They are multicultural, very educated and very beautiful women. Most of the 400 nuclear students we send to Russia, will marry Russian women in the future. The Russian language will enter into Turkish families.

We have high degree dependency on natural gas in Russia. That is why our "Current Deficit" is high. Imported coal and future nuclear dependency are also to be added. We must reduce dependency to acceptable figures. We need to open common business areas.

The world is now more free, more independent, more free thanks to the internet. A more relaxed free market in Russia has been formed. The black market is finished but the service / service sector is still not good. Russian women are well educated and beautiful, men are more business minded, ballet-opera performances are great again.

We should not interfere with others' internal affairs, we should believe in the synergy of doing common business, let's not leave the principle of "peace in the country, peace in the world."

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Haluk Direskeneli, is a graduate of METU Mechanical Engineering department (1973). He worked in public, private enterprises, USA Turkish JV companies (B&W, CSWI, AEP), in fabrication, basic and detail design, marketing, sales and project management of thermal power plants. He is currently working as freelance consultant/ energy analyst with thermal power plants basic/ detail design software expertise for private engineering companies, investors, universities and research institutions. He is a member of ODTÜ Alumni and Chamber of Turkish Mechanical Engineers Energy Working Group.

Ankara, 15 September 2018