Opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu promises U-turn in relations with Moscow
Relations between Ankara and Moscow will remain warm if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins Sunday’s run-off Turkish election – but if his opponent Kemal Kili Chidaroglu won in a close competition, things could have been different, Turkish experts told RT.
The election entered a runoff after no candidate won 50 percent of the vote in the first round of voting earlier this month.
Ibrahim Karatas, associate professor of international relations at Istanbul’s Istinye University, believes Turkey’s stance on Russia will not change if Erdogan wins.
“Erdogan has pursued an independent foreign policy for the past decade,” If he wins, he will continue to do so, he said, adding that relations between the two countries may even improve.
Kilicdaroglu, on the other hand, committed ahead of the first round “He’s going to do a 180 on foreign policy,” Align Türkiye with the West, Karatas said. “I guess he’ll join the sanctions against Russia.”
He added that the US and its allies could persuade Kilicdaroglu to cancel all contracts with Moscow, including closing the Russian-built Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which opened just last month.
Yunus Soner, editor at the United World International Analysis Center, told RT, “You will definitely see different words” Regarding Russia, if Kilicdaroglu beats Erdogan in the final.
Sona went on to say: “The extent to which he can actually change the content of his policies, such as adding sanctions or increasing support for Ukraine, is another matter.”
“Turkey is a big country. It has a lot of interests, a huge economy and an organized civil society. So, you can’t just sit in your seat and turn the wheel,” He said.
According to Soner, Kilicdaroglu’s “Recent discussions about reducing so-called energy dependence on Russia are worrisome.” But he noted that implementing the plan would be problematic because buying energy from the US would be too expensive for Türkiye.
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