Российско-турецкие отношения после 2015 г: новые тренды, старые дилеммы

Abstract

As the events of the past few years indicate, relations between Russia and Turkey are increasingly determined by security-related issues. Such a shift in priorities in bilateral relations should be perceived not only as a response to the emerging threats to the internal and external security of the two countries but also as a consequence of the changes in the strategic orientation of Russia and Turkey after the end of the Cold War. The most important events in the formation of a new model of relations between Russia and Turkey were such as the “Arab Spring”, the wars in Syria and Libya, US support for the Syrian Kurds from the “People’s Self-Defense Forces”, the revolution in Ukraine and the subsequent Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the Russian military operation in Syria, the 2015 crisis in Russian-Turkish relations, and the attempted military coup in Turkey in 2016. Regional crises near the borders of Russia and Turkey and the growing securitization of the policies of both states not only pushed Moscow and Ankara to interact in the security sphere but also created new challenges for their relations. In this article, the authors examine the dynamics of Russian-Turkish relations, paying particular attention to the security dimension, as well as the opportunities and limitations for cooperation between the two countries, given that security is becoming an increasingly important element in bilateral relations. The main focus is on the analysis of competitive cooperation between Russia and Turkey in Eurasia, for the understanding of which it is necessary to refer not only to the current context but also to the historical experience of interaction between the two countries in this wide geographical space. Acknowledgements. Published with the financial support of the project “The influence of the policy of Iran and Turkey on transformation of the Middle East and Post-Soviet space” of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of HSE-University.