Abstract: Throughout the 2000s, Turkey and Russia developed very close political and economic links. Both sides tried to maintain good relations even after the Arab uprisings and despite their growing differences over the Syrian civil war, but this became an impossible task after November 24, 2015, when Turkish forces shot down a Russian SU-24 fighter jet near the Turkish-Syrian border. This incident not only caused a rupture in bilateral relations between Ankara and Moscow, but also brought an abrupt end to regional dialogue between the two countries with regard to developments in the Middle East. On August 9, President Erdoğan and President Putin met in St. Petersburg for the first time since the fighter jet incident and announced a normalization of political and economic relations between Turkey and Russia. The two countries also announced their decision to establish a new political-military mechanism to help overcome their differences over Syria. If Turkey manages to overcome its differences with Russia and Iran over Syria, this might also pave the way for the emergence of a regional consensus between the three countries regarding other issues in the Middle East.
About the Author:
Emre Erşen is an associate professor at Marmara University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations. He completed his PhD at the same department. He has also conducted research at the Higher School of Economics (Russia), University of Kent (UK) and Jagiellonian University (Poland) as a visiting scholar. His research interests include Russian foreign policy, Turkish-Russian relations, Eurasianism and geopolitics. He has contributed papers at international conferences and published articles in journals including Geopolitics, Turkish Studies, Insight Turkey and Journal of Eurasian Studies.