Turkey-Russia: How Serious is the Tension?

• 10.06.2015, 14:25
• Arpine Hovsepyan
•  Near East,  World

Russian airstrikes in Syria have risen a new wave of tension in Turkey-Russia bilateral relations. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry says Russia violated its airspace for the second time after Saturday incident. As Hurriyet reports, Turkey has warned that it will react if Russia again violates Turkey’s border with Syria. "Let me put it bluntly: the Turkish Armed Forces have been issued with open instructions. Even if it’s a flying bird, whoever violates Turkish airspace will be subject to the necessary actions," Davutoglu told Habertürk TV in an interview, calling on Russia not to escalate tension in Syria.

Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday's violation happened due to poor weather, stressing that there is no need to look for any conspiracy in the incident, RIA Novosti reports. The Russian side assured that such incidents will not be repeated.

NATO has strongly condemned Russia for violating Turkey’s airspace. According to The Guardian, Ambassadors from the 28 NATO member states held an emergency meeting in Brussels. "Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behaviour. They call on the Russian Federation to cease and desist, and immediately explain these violations," NATO said in a statement after the meeting.

In his turn, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, warned that the incident could have led to Turkey shooting down the Russian plane, noting that the US is "very concerned about it". Kerry stressed that Russia had a responsibility to act within international standards.

Despite the above mentioned statements, it is obvious that Russia and Turkey do not intend to worsen bilateral relations. There are appropriate signals from both sides. "Russia is our friend and neighbor. There is no tension between Turkey and Russia in this sense. The issue of Syria is not a Turkish-Russian crisis," Davutoglu said.

In his turn, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that "Russia’s operations in Syria would not cause a worsening in relations with Turkey and that the cooperation of two countries had a strong base".

Indeed is not a secret that Russia and Turkey during the last several years have tried to overcome their political differences by deepening the economic cooperation. It should be mentioned that yesterday Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev said the free trade zone agreement between Russia and Turkey can be signed by 2016. According to МИР 24, it is expected that the intergovernmental agreement should be signed between the two countries during the meeting of the Supreme State Council.

Turkey’s "tough" rhetoric is conditioned by the fears that Turkey feels about Russian military intervention in Syria, as it is obvious that Russian actions in Syria almost neutralize Turkish plans of creating a "security zone" in its border with Syria.