Turkey-Russia rapprochement to nullify NATO sanctions on Moscow: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with political expert William Jones, from Executive Intelligence Review in Washington, and Ian Williams, a senior analyst with Foreign Policy in Focus from New York. The topic of conversation has been Turkey's policy of detente with Russia, as well as its new approach towards its traditional allies such as the United States and European states.

William Jones described the upcoming talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a strategic meeting" which would not only dispel the atmosphere of distrust between the two sides, but would also bolster cooperation among countries in the Middle East in resolving the Syrian crisis.

“One of the main topics [of the meeting] is going to be the situation in Syria. Russia through its own intervention helped to turn the tide there to really create an opposition to ISIS [Daesh] and Turkey will now be in a collaborative effort with them on this issue,” Jones further noted.

He also added that the rapprochement between Russia and Turkey would be a devastating blow to NATO’s policy of sanctions and containment against Russia.

“NATO and the United States and Europe namely with some dissenters have essentially been pursuing a policy of containment against Russia, bringing NATO troops right up to the border of Russia and imposing economic sanctions,” Jones reiterated, “Turkey is breaking with this now in a very big way and I think that sets a very important example although people in NATO will not be very happy with this.”

“I think the news is all going to be very positive for the two countries and for the region as a whole.”

However, Ian Williams believes that the re-establishment of relations between the two countries is all about expediency and not about a long-term strategic alliance.

“They're picking and choosing. It's like a game of cards where they're picking out and seeing which way the deck is stacked and each hand is being played depending on to which cards are there at the time," he added.

"I don't see long-term planning here. I don't see long-term strategic alliances. I see fleeting expediency."

Williams also asserted that by pursuing a pivot to Russia, Erdogan, a pragmatic president, seeks to blackmail the US and the European countries to get more money "exactly the same as what he did before the refugee deal with Europe".

“He [Erdogan] can play for the same cards now. He can kiss and make up to Russia and send signals to the US and Europe 'Hey come and make me a better offer' and I really think that could be a significant part of what's happening now.” 

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