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RUSSIAN ENVOY TO TURKEY BACKS ARMENIAN, KURDISH OVERTURES
Radikal
Oct 24 2009
Turkey
[Report by Murat Yetkin on an interview with Russian Ambassador
to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovsky: "The Russian Ambassador: We Support
Armenian, Kurdish Overtures"]
Vladimir Ivanovsky, Russian Federation ambassador to Turkey, has
asserted that they support Turkey's initiative to normalize the ties
with Armenia as well as the Kurdish overture, adding that peace and
stability in the region serves Turkey's as well as Russia's interests.
Noting that the fact that these issues no longer constitute problems
has an impact on energy security not only in the region, but also
in Europe and the Mediterranean, Ivanovsky explained that important
energy investments have been made in Turkey and that the security of
these investments is important.
Stating that Kazakhstan will also participate in the Samsun-Ceyhan oil
pipeline on which an agreement has been reached between Turkey, Russia,
and Italy in a meeting held by the leaders of the three countries,
the Russian ambassador announced that they are getting ready for a
strategic cooperation agreement with Turkey. The main lines of the
interview we conducted with the Russian ambassador are as follows:
Samsun-Ceyhan Begins
- (Regarding the meeting that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
held with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Moscow on
22 October in which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan participated by
video conference) We have organized the meeting. In fact, the Turkish
ambassador to Moscow and I, as the Russian ambassador to Turkey, have
been working even in the weekends lately. We have established working
groups on the Samsun-Ceyhan (SC) oil pipeline project. The agreement
in this regard was signed in Milan on 20 October. The work will begin
this month and it will be completed as soon as possible. I had talked
to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during his visit to Ankara.
Kazakhstan also wants to supply oil to the SC pipeline and to
participate in the project. The participation of Kazakhstan will
strengthen and will accelerate the project.
- Within the framework of the meeting that Putin and Erdogan had held
in Sochi last May, on 20 October we received the permit for working
in Turkish territorial waters for the South Stream (the project for
the transfer of natural gas from Russia to south Europe via the Black
Sea). We invited Turkey to join the South Stream. If it does, we will
have other plans. It is also possible to build a second Blue Line.
This line will not be built to meet Turkey's needs. Rather, it will
be required for sales to other markets. To transfer all the lines
that go south from Russia via Turkey is among the alternatives.
Towards Strategic Partnership
- Russia has very special ties with three countries in the world:
Germany, France, and Italy. We have established a special cooperation
mechanism with these three countries. The prime minister (or there is
a president in France) heads this mechanism and then there are nine to
10 relevant ministers, bureaucrats, and delegations of businessmen. It
also has a secretariat. Following his meeting with Erdogan during his
latest visit to Turkey, Putin reached a decision: We will establish
a fourth relationship of this kind with Turkey. We attach importance
to the establishment of this mechanism. In addition to the political
and economic dimensions, this mechanism will also have a security
dimension. It will be possible to establish this mechanism in 2010.
Turning Point that Has Been Reached With Iraq
- Our relations with Turkey are conducted in an environment of trust.
I can say that the turning point in the relations had occurred
between 2000 and 2004. We had begun to receive proposals from Turkey
for cooperation during this period. The issue of Iraq (he is talking
about the fact that on 1 March 2003 the National Assembly had rejected
the authorization bill that had aimed to actively support the United
States's invasion of Iraq - Murat Yetkin) had been very important
here. From our standpoint Turkey had then become a country that could
reach its own decisions. I had served as consul general in Istanbul
about 10 years ago. I am able to see the progress that has been done
since then.
- With the election of President Barack Obama the dynamics of our
relations with the United States have changed. US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton has recently visited Moscow and she has given our
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a box with a button that read "Reset."
They pressed the button together.
We have begun to cooperate in the field of energy and in the field
of nuclear nonproliferation. Every single day US planes fly over our
country and carry cargo to Afghanistan. Russian trains carry the NATO
loads that arrive in the Riga Port in the Baltic.
History is very strange. We cooperate in Afghanistan. We support the
activities of the coalition against Al-Qa'idah.
- When I had visited the Turkish Foreign Ministry following the
Georgia attack last September I had noted that the time was very
suitable for improving the ties between Turkey and Armenia. The
Turkish press features articles to the effect that we are against
the normalization of the ties. However we have supported this move
from the very beginning. As you know, Lavrov has played a role in
the signing of the protocol between Turkey and Armenia on 10 October.
Both Turkey and Russia want stability in the Caucasus. Russia's ties
both with Armenia and Azerbaijan are very deep. Two and a half million
Armenians and more than two million Azerbaijanis live in Russia. From
our standpoint the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is also
imperative because this serves our interest in terms of the stability
in the Caucasus. It will assist us to overcome our own problems such
as the problems in Dagestan and Chechnya.
Nonetheless we believe that it will not be appropriate to link the
Karabakh issue to the protocol with Armenia.
Support for the Kurdish Overture
- I find the Kurdish overture or the democratic overture positive. I
do not want to establish a parallelism with the similar domestic
problems in Russia, but we are also resolving the Chechnya problem with
similar methods. This has three dimensions: the military dimension,
the economic dimension, and the cultural dimension. On condition that
we may use the military method when necessary we also make economic
investments and use methods such broadcasting in the Chechen language
and teaching the Chechen language as a optional course in the schools.
- This is both a time consuming and a difficult process. There may
be more difficulties, but I believe that the steps that are being
taken are appropriate. This is because the Kurdish problem is not
merely Turkey's problem. It is the problem of the entire region,
but the Turks suffer the most as a result of it. We therefore support
all the steps that are being taken for the solution of the problem. I
read the interview that was conducted with my US ambassador colleague
(Radikal, 22 October 2009) and I share his views in this regard.
- The PKK issue does not constitute a problem in the Turkish-Russian
ties. Russia will not allow activities against Turkey on its soil. As
a matter of fact the PKK does not conduct any military or political
activities in Russia. Despite this, we announce in each and every
meeting with Turkish officials that we are ready to act in line with
the evidence that they will present to us. After all, similar to
the Caucasus, peace and stability in the entire region serves the
interests of everyone.
Overture, Energy, and Security
(In answer to a question on whether the normalization process with
Armenia and the Kurdish overture are linked to the energy issue)
These issues have an impact on energy security not only in the region,
but also in the Europe and the Mediterranean. If it is not able to
transfer the oil and the gas via Turkey, what will northern Iraq do
with its oil and gas? I believe that within five to 10 years Iranian
gas will also be transported to Europe via Turkey, depending on the
situation in Iran. We are investing in the energy field in Turkey. For
example, if we are able to realize the Samsun-Ceyhan project, we will
request that this line is secure. We should not forget the transfer
of electricity, either. We are also interested in the nuclear power
plants in Turkey. Our talks in this regard continue. If peace and
stability are brought about in the region, Turkey will become one of
the world's energy crossroads.
Radikal
Oct 24 2009
Turkey
[Report by Murat Yetkin on an interview with Russian Ambassador
to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovsky: "The Russian Ambassador: We Support
Armenian, Kurdish Overtures"]
Vladimir Ivanovsky, Russian Federation ambassador to Turkey, has
asserted that they support Turkey's initiative to normalize the ties
with Armenia as well as the Kurdish overture, adding that peace and
stability in the region serves Turkey's as well as Russia's interests.
Noting that the fact that these issues no longer constitute problems
has an impact on energy security not only in the region, but also
in Europe and the Mediterranean, Ivanovsky explained that important
energy investments have been made in Turkey and that the security of
these investments is important.
Stating that Kazakhstan will also participate in the Samsun-Ceyhan oil
pipeline on which an agreement has been reached between Turkey, Russia,
and Italy in a meeting held by the leaders of the three countries,
the Russian ambassador announced that they are getting ready for a
strategic cooperation agreement with Turkey. The main lines of the
interview we conducted with the Russian ambassador are as follows:
Samsun-Ceyhan Begins
- (Regarding the meeting that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
held with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Moscow on
22 October in which Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan participated by
video conference) We have organized the meeting. In fact, the Turkish
ambassador to Moscow and I, as the Russian ambassador to Turkey, have
been working even in the weekends lately. We have established working
groups on the Samsun-Ceyhan (SC) oil pipeline project. The agreement
in this regard was signed in Milan on 20 October. The work will begin
this month and it will be completed as soon as possible. I had talked
to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev during his visit to Ankara.
Kazakhstan also wants to supply oil to the SC pipeline and to
participate in the project. The participation of Kazakhstan will
strengthen and will accelerate the project.
- Within the framework of the meeting that Putin and Erdogan had held
in Sochi last May, on 20 October we received the permit for working
in Turkish territorial waters for the South Stream (the project for
the transfer of natural gas from Russia to south Europe via the Black
Sea). We invited Turkey to join the South Stream. If it does, we will
have other plans. It is also possible to build a second Blue Line.
This line will not be built to meet Turkey's needs. Rather, it will
be required for sales to other markets. To transfer all the lines
that go south from Russia via Turkey is among the alternatives.
Towards Strategic Partnership
- Russia has very special ties with three countries in the world:
Germany, France, and Italy. We have established a special cooperation
mechanism with these three countries. The prime minister (or there is
a president in France) heads this mechanism and then there are nine to
10 relevant ministers, bureaucrats, and delegations of businessmen. It
also has a secretariat. Following his meeting with Erdogan during his
latest visit to Turkey, Putin reached a decision: We will establish
a fourth relationship of this kind with Turkey. We attach importance
to the establishment of this mechanism. In addition to the political
and economic dimensions, this mechanism will also have a security
dimension. It will be possible to establish this mechanism in 2010.
Turning Point that Has Been Reached With Iraq
- Our relations with Turkey are conducted in an environment of trust.
I can say that the turning point in the relations had occurred
between 2000 and 2004. We had begun to receive proposals from Turkey
for cooperation during this period. The issue of Iraq (he is talking
about the fact that on 1 March 2003 the National Assembly had rejected
the authorization bill that had aimed to actively support the United
States's invasion of Iraq - Murat Yetkin) had been very important
here. From our standpoint Turkey had then become a country that could
reach its own decisions. I had served as consul general in Istanbul
about 10 years ago. I am able to see the progress that has been done
since then.
- With the election of President Barack Obama the dynamics of our
relations with the United States have changed. US Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton has recently visited Moscow and she has given our
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a box with a button that read "Reset."
They pressed the button together.
We have begun to cooperate in the field of energy and in the field
of nuclear nonproliferation. Every single day US planes fly over our
country and carry cargo to Afghanistan. Russian trains carry the NATO
loads that arrive in the Riga Port in the Baltic.
History is very strange. We cooperate in Afghanistan. We support the
activities of the coalition against Al-Qa'idah.
- When I had visited the Turkish Foreign Ministry following the
Georgia attack last September I had noted that the time was very
suitable for improving the ties between Turkey and Armenia. The
Turkish press features articles to the effect that we are against
the normalization of the ties. However we have supported this move
from the very beginning. As you know, Lavrov has played a role in
the signing of the protocol between Turkey and Armenia on 10 October.
Both Turkey and Russia want stability in the Caucasus. Russia's ties
both with Armenia and Azerbaijan are very deep. Two and a half million
Armenians and more than two million Azerbaijanis live in Russia. From
our standpoint the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is also
imperative because this serves our interest in terms of the stability
in the Caucasus. It will assist us to overcome our own problems such
as the problems in Dagestan and Chechnya.
Nonetheless we believe that it will not be appropriate to link the
Karabakh issue to the protocol with Armenia.
Support for the Kurdish Overture
- I find the Kurdish overture or the democratic overture positive. I
do not want to establish a parallelism with the similar domestic
problems in Russia, but we are also resolving the Chechnya problem with
similar methods. This has three dimensions: the military dimension,
the economic dimension, and the cultural dimension. On condition that
we may use the military method when necessary we also make economic
investments and use methods such broadcasting in the Chechen language
and teaching the Chechen language as a optional course in the schools.
- This is both a time consuming and a difficult process. There may
be more difficulties, but I believe that the steps that are being
taken are appropriate. This is because the Kurdish problem is not
merely Turkey's problem. It is the problem of the entire region,
but the Turks suffer the most as a result of it. We therefore support
all the steps that are being taken for the solution of the problem. I
read the interview that was conducted with my US ambassador colleague
(Radikal, 22 October 2009) and I share his views in this regard.
- The PKK issue does not constitute a problem in the Turkish-Russian
ties. Russia will not allow activities against Turkey on its soil. As
a matter of fact the PKK does not conduct any military or political
activities in Russia. Despite this, we announce in each and every
meeting with Turkish officials that we are ready to act in line with
the evidence that they will present to us. After all, similar to
the Caucasus, peace and stability in the entire region serves the
interests of everyone.
Overture, Energy, and Security
(In answer to a question on whether the normalization process with
Armenia and the Kurdish overture are linked to the energy issue)
These issues have an impact on energy security not only in the region,
but also in the Europe and the Mediterranean. If it is not able to
transfer the oil and the gas via Turkey, what will northern Iraq do
with its oil and gas? I believe that within five to 10 years Iranian
gas will also be transported to Europe via Turkey, depending on the
situation in Iran. We are investing in the energy field in Turkey. For
example, if we are able to realize the Samsun-Ceyhan project, we will
request that this line is secure. We should not forget the transfer
of electricity, either. We are also interested in the nuclear power
plants in Turkey. Our talks in this regard continue. If peace and
stability are brought about in the region, Turkey will become one of
the world's energy crossroads.