BY NURAY BASARAN
AKSAM- Columnist Nuray Basaran comments on Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s recent visit to Moscow and Turkish-Russian relations. A summary of her column is as follows:
After Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul’s visit to Russia ended, rosy official statements said that mutual consensus had been reached on many issues. Understandably, the Turkish delegation was very impressed by the magnificent historical atmosphere of the Kremlin. Meetings between Gul and Russian President Vladimir Putin were very warm, and Gul told Putin about the Cyprus issue. They also discussed the issues of upper Karabakh, Iraq, Georgia and terrorism. From what I saw of Gul’s visit, it was a ‘Russian classic.’ The Russian people are very good at paying compliments and showing official etiquette, and they treat almost all their diplomatic guests the same. However, while you go home happy, the Russians continue their policies completely unaltered. During one meeting the Russians said that they considered the talks very important, but just afterwards, Putin dismissed the government which had participated. We consider this a ‘gesture of friendship’ (!).
It wouldn’t be realistic to expect concrete developments on such issues as the upper Karabakh or Cyprus, on which we hoped for Russia’s support. During Gul’s visit the Turkish side explained its stance on the Middle East to the Russians. The most basic problem between Ankara and Moscow isn’t understanding, but confidence. Russia understands us very well. The real problem is the problem of trust on such issues as the Caucasus and the Middle East. For how long can Putin’s Russia, with its dreams of dominating Eurasia, and Turkey, which has become a regional power, stand together?