Russia shares Turkey's concerns on Kurdish issue

27 November 2006
The New Anatolian
By Ayhan Simsek
Moscow

Russia is deeply concerned about the looming threat of Iraq's disintegration and shares the concerns of Turkey on the Kurdish issue, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko in an interview with a group of Turkish journalists in Moscow over the weekend.

Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko underlined that on a growing range of international issues, including Iraq, Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict; positions of Russia and Turkey have become very close, sometimes even identical. "Our relations are rising to a level of a multifaceted partnership, a goal stipulated by our heads of states in Dec 2004," Grushko stressed.

On Turkey's bid to join the European Union, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister underlined that this process should promote greater stability and mutually beneficial international cooperation in the region, and also raised Moscow's expectation that Turkey's commitments to the EU during the accession process will not hinder development of the multifaceted Russian-Turkish partnership.

Stressing that Russia has always advocated a comprehensive, fair and viable solution to Cyprus problem in line with the UN resolutions, Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko said Turkish and Greek Cypriots should be encouraged for resumption of full-scale negotiations with the goal of reaching a comprehensive settlement. He also said Russia is prepared to carry on a policy of developing economic relations with the Turkish Cypriots on condition of compliance with the principles of international law and UN resolutions.

On the claims of the Armenian genocide and problems between Turkey and Armenia, Alexander Grushko expressed hope that improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations will contribute to a greater stability in the region. "In our opinion, the parties should agree to jointly address issues related to the genocide. Russia's position on the issue is well known: relations today must not be made hostage to history," he said. Grushko also expressed support for Turkish proposal for establishing an international commission of historians. "We think that implementation of the initiative on setting up an international commission of historians, in one form or another, could be beneficial," he said.

Here is what Deputy Foreign Minister Grushko had to tell us:

-Russia and Turkey have stepped up political cooperation in recent years. What is Moscow's view of the quality of bilateral relations and their future, in particular over the next decade?

-GRUSHKO: Russian-Turkish relations have been progressing dynamically, and political dialogue has become more active at the top level. The leaders of the two countries have met six times since December 2004, when the Russian head of state made an official visit to Turkey for the first time in the history of bilateral relations. They regularly talk on the telephone and exchange messages.

Our foreign policy departments are interacting very intensively and effectively, as proved by a packed schedule of their consultations. This month, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Moscow, First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov held talks with the leaders of the Turkish foreign ministry, and two rounds of ministerial consultations were staged in Ankara.

Our relations show that the positions of our countries coincide or are similar on a growing range of international issues. In fact, they are rising to a level of a multifaceted partnership. This goal was stipulated by the heads of the two states in the Joint Political Declaration they signed in December 2004.
Out trade and economic cooperation has given a powerful impulse to bilateral relations. Bilateral trade amounted to $12.6 billion in 2005 and is growing at a fast rate. We expect to raise it to $25 billion by 2008.
Relations in the fuel and energy sector play a crucial part in our cooperation. Russian companies are prepared to contribute to the construction of underground storage facilities and other elements of the gas infrastructure in Turkey, as well as in projects stipulating the delivery of Russian gas to global markets via Turkey.

There are good cooperation opportunities in the generation of electricity, including at nuclear power plants. We also regard military-technical cooperation as a promising element of bilateral relations.

Tourism promotes contacts on a personal level; about 2 million Russian tourists visit Turkey every year. We have agreed to hold events dedicated to Russian and Turkish culture in 2007 and 2008 to encourage state cultural exchanges.

Taking into account the level of cooperation we have reached and future possibilities, we think that Russian-Turkish relations have a fair chance of progressing to the benefit of our nations and in the interests of stronger regional security and development.

-How do you view Turkish foreign policy on the issues such as the Iranian nuclear program, Iraq, and the Arab-Israeli conflict?

-GRUSHKO: On the whole Ankara's official position on these problems is seen as realistic and aimed at their speediest political settlement in the interests of peace and stability in that region. Our approaches to the solution of these problems are very close and sometimes identical, which is a good foundation for an active Russian-Turkish exchange of views. We value confidential communication established between us in the recent period on the issues indicated, and are ready to pursue it further.

-Rising sectarian violence and future of Iraq -

-What does Russia think about Iraq and its future? Does Moscow share Ankara's concerns about the possible disintegration of Iraq?

-GRUSHKO: We are deeply concerned about the situation in Iraq, where a large-scale civil conflict is brewing and has already spread to the relatively tranquil Shiite southern provinces. There is a looming threat of Iraq's disintegration. We stand fully for preserving its territorial integrity, and share the concern of our Turkish partners, including on the Kurdish issue.
We believe that the process of national reconciliation can start on the basis of agreements reached at the meeting on Iraq held in Cairo in November 2005 under the banner of the Arab League and attended by the leaders of the major political forces and ethnic and religious groups of Iraq.

Outlining a timetable for the presence of multinational forces in Iraq may considerably ease tensions there.
We are convinced that the international community must not stop its efforts to harmonize the warring sides' positions. Neighboring countries have not yet exhausted their possibilities either. Turkey regularly attends the conferences of foreign and interior ministries of Iraq's neighbor countries.

Russia is prepared to contribute to drafting and implementing any initiative that can facilitate an early stabilization of the situation. In our opinion, a political settlement in Iraq based on a broad consensus between Kurds and Shiite and Sunnite Arabs would contribute to the development of a civilized model of a federative state with a balance of interests of the regions and the federal center.

-Turkey's EU perspective, Cyprus question-

-Accession to the European Union is a major priority of Turkey's foreign policy. What do you think are the possible reflections of Turkey's EU process to the Turkish-Russian relations?

-GRUSHKO: We are closely monitoring Ankara's intention to become a full member of the EU. In our opinion, this process, which will depend on the sovereign decisions of Turkey and the EU countries, should promote greater security and stability, and mutually beneficial international cooperation in the region, and should prevent tensions and the appearance of division lines.
We believe that issues directly bearing on Russian-Turkish relations can appear on the agenda at the early stages of EU-Turkish negotiations. One of them can concern compatibility between bilateral contracts and agreements and EU norms regulating foreign trade, energy relations, transport, visa regimes, and so on.

Russia does not want Turkey's commitments to the EU to hinder the development of multifaceted Russian-Turkish partnership, trade and economic cooperation, or complicate the entry of Russian visitors to Turkey. In bilateral relations with Turkey, we stress our desire to hold prompt consultations aimed at minimizing possible negative effects of the EU accession on Russian-Turkish relations.

-Ankara expects Russia to support it on the issue of ending the international isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. What is Russia's stand on the issue of the Cyprus settlement? Will Moscow advance relevant initiatives?

-GRUSHKO: Russia has always advocated a comprehensive, fair and viable solution to the Cyprus problem in keeping with relevant UN resolutions. We have worked consistently to ensure the legitimate interests of Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and will continue to act in this vein. We think UN Security Council resolutions and the assistance of the UN Secretary General should be used to encourage the parties involved in the conflict to resume full-scale negotiations.

Definite results have been attained in the past year. Dr. Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, who visited Cyprus last July, coordinated a mechanism for starting an inter-ethnic dialogue on the everyday life of the two communities and on substantive issues. Both can facilitate the solution of fundamental problems hindering a comprehensive settlement. In our opinion, the international community and all countries working for a settlement of the Cyprus problem should help Cypriots advance towards these goals.

We believe that steps should be taken to strengthen the leading role of the UN in resolving the Cyprus problem and the role of the five permanent member states as the main body of international political monitoring. We are prepared to contribute to the resumption of the Good Offices Mission of the UN Secretary General.

We think that the two parties' striving for settlement should be encouraged, and we are prepared to carry on a policy of developing economic relations with the Turkish Cypriot community on condition of compliance with the principles of international law and UN resolutions.

-Armenian genocide claims, international commission-

-Can Russia propose ways to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia?

-GRUSHKO:We think direct Armenian-Azerbaijani contacts must be resumed to bring about a settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. In our opinion, the recent meetings between foreign ministers were both productive and instructive, and paved the way to solving outstanding problems.

Russia and its partners from the OSCE Minsk Group think it crucial to continue to discuss the positive achievements made in the Karabakh settlement since mid-2005. We support the initiative of formalizing the coordinated settlement principles by signing a relevant document.

As for Turkish-Armenian relations, we are confident that their improvement could contribute to greater stability in the region. We know that Armenian and Turkish leaders have been communicating, and think that bilateral consultations at different levels, including a top one, will facilitate the search for reasonable compromises.

In our opinion, the parties should agree to jointly address issues related to the genocide. Russia's position on the issue is well known: relations today must not be made hostage to history. The adoption of a relevant law in the French parliament has provoked a wave of indignation in the Turkish community. A reply wave of anti-Armenian sentiments would hinder the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia. We think that the implementation of the initiative on setting up an international commission of historians, in one form or another, could be beneficial.

- The Chechen issue had at one time been a negative impact on Turkish-Russian relations. Has the situation changed?

-GRUSHKO: We respect the balanced approach of the Turkish officials to the issue of combating terrorists and separatists in the North Caucasus, which is particularly painful to us. We welcome measures, taken in the last years, to stop the operation of self-proclaimed "representatives of Ichkeria" in Turkey, and hope that Ankara will respect our antiterrorist concerns. Double standards must not be allowed in our common fight against international terrorism.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.