Last November 24, the Turkish air force downed a Russian Su-24 bomber jet over the Turkish-Syrian border, claiming that it violated Turkish airspace. Russia denied the claims and called the incident a “stab in the back from the accomplices of terrorists.” The pilots ejected, but one – Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov – was killed by machine gun fire from the militants on the ground.

 

In retaliation, Russia imposes a wave of sanctions against Turkey, which affected its annual US$30 billion trade, tourism, joint energy projects and other areas. The Kremlin made it clear from the start that restoration of normal relations with Turkey would be impossible without Ankara apologizing and paying compensation to the pilot’s family. Still, Turkey refused to do so.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Erdogan, amusingly, said that he wanted to improve ties with Russia but didn’t know how. On Thursday, Brexit happened and on Sunday, Turkey agreed to befriend Israel (again) – restoring full diplomatic ties after more than 6 years of hostility. It was no coincident that the very next day on Monday, Erdogan apologized to Moscow.

 

For months Mr. Erdogan and his minions dismissed Vladimir Putin demand for an apology, because the U.S. and NATO were thought to be behind Turkey. So what makes the Turkey dictator suddenly makes a U-turn, something which is considered humiliating to him? Obviously, the economic impact imposed by badass Putin works. But there’s more.

The Russian sanctions were simply too painful – embargo on most of Turkey’s food exports; a halt of the sale of package tours to Turkey, which depends heavily on Russian tourists; a suspension of a visa-free regime for Turkish visitors; and restrictions on Turkish construction companies that were having business interest in the Russian market.

 

The Turkish leader’s letter offered both an apology and compensation as demanded by Moscow – “I would like to express my compassion and deep condolences to the family of the dead Russian pilot and say I’m sorry. I share their pain with all my heart. We are ready to take any incentive to help ease the pain of the burden of inflicted damage.”

Initially, charges against a Turkish citizen – Alparslan Celik – who allegedly shot and killed the Russian pilot had been dropped in May. But on Monday, the same day Erdogan apologized to Putin, the charges had been “reinstated”. In his letter, Erdogan also called Russia “a friend and a strategic partner” of Ankara with whom the Turkish authorities want to mend ties.

 

Besides economic impact on Turkey, President Erdogan appears to have started realizing the “mistakes he made about the Syrian war” and the fact that he “can’t isolate himself from the rest of the world”. He was tricked into believing the U.S. and NATO were behind him but in reality, Turkey is fighting a lonely war against autonomy-seeking Kurdish militants, Syria, Russia and even Israel.

 

That’s right; the aftermath of Brexit has shown Turkey not only the type of friends EU is behind the mask, but also the chance of Turkey joining the club. Turkey first applied to join what was then the EEC in 1987, declared an eligible candidate in 1997 and negotiations which were formerly started in 2005 has been ongoing ever since.

 

Major opponents of Turkey’s accession are Germany and European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker. One of Turkey’s strongest supporters was none other than Britain, although British Prime Minister David Cameron lied that Turkey might not be able to join EU until the year 3000 – that’s 984 years away!!

Cameron had once vowed to “pave the road from Ankara to Brussels” and that Britain is paying £675 million to help prepare the country to join EU. If the Remain campaigners had won, membership talks about Turkey’s finance and budget affairs will begin this week on June 30. Unfortunately, Britain has voted to leave EU, leaving Germany as the dominant power.

 

UK’s exit and Cameron’s resignation are as good as telling Turkish President Recep Erdogan its game over. Germany will disallow Turkey’s official membership to the EU. Another tricky issue with the idea of EU membership is military. After Brexit, EU is about to lose a nation (Britain) with second-largest economy and largest military power.

Therefore, EU has seriously started looking into having a single military force. What this means is all EU members will surrender their military forces under the command of an EU army. As NATO’s second-largest military force, is Erdogan willing to surrender his country’s military power that keeps him in power, in exchange for EU membership? Even if he’s willing to, his generals are not.

 

After witnessing empty beaches and Brexit, the usually confrontational Erdogan is reduced to adopting a diplomatic attitude, thanks largely to new Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim. Turkey has finally realized that its foreign policy had reached a dead end, as the country was isolated in the region and left with Iran and Qatar as his only friends.

For now, Putin is still assessing Erdogan’s apology with extreme caution. Erdogan has played a double game where he has supported ISIS and NATO at the same time. Putin also knew Turkish-American relations are in crisis because Washington now pins its hopes on the Kurds which seek to create their own autonomy in the Northern Syria, very near to the Turkish Kurds.

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …

• EU’s Childish & Vengeful Acts Could Force Britain Into Russia’s Arm
• BREXIT!! – Here’re 7 Major Reasons Forcing British To Leave The EU
• Not Over Yet – Here’re Some Of Russia’s Awesome Military Hardware In Syria
• 4 Reasons Russia Intervened In Syria & Why Putin May Attack NATO As Well
• Europe Civil War – Swiss General Warns His People To Arm Themselves
• Germany Under Attack – Molest, Rape, Sexually Assault By 1,000+ Arab Mobs
• Here’s One Country ISIS Fears The Most But Never Talked About
• Here’s Why Turkey Could Be Alone In A “Nuclear War” With Russia
• Russian Jet Shot Down – How Putin Brilliantly Turns It To His Advantage
• US-NATO Can’t Help France, So World Leaders Sucking Up To Putin

Tweet

June 29th, 2016 by financetwitter

If you enjoyed this post, what shall you do next? Consider: