Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet in Sochi September 29.
Ahead of the summit, United World International expert Mehmet Perinçek spoke to the Azerbaijani news website vzglyad.az. Perinçek evaluated the summits agenda and the two countries’ objectives in Syria and beyond.
Below, we document the interview as published by the news website.
Vzglyad.az spoke with Turkish political scientist, journalist and historian, professor of Istanbul University Mehmet Perinçek about what issues the leaders are going to discuss.
“With the decline of American hegemony globally, this meeting has become very important. The United States is losing its dominant role in world geopolitics. Moscow and Ankara can take advantage of this for their national interests, as well as for the stabilization of regions and peace in the region”, the political scientist believes.
According to him, the main topic at the meeting between Putin and Erdogan will be the Idlib issue and Syria.
“Turkey and Russia must together eliminate the terrorists”
“The only way to resolve the Syrian issue is to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria. The territorial integrity of Syria is the territorial integrity of Turkey, and every autonomous territory that destroys the territorial integrity of Syria will become a US staging area against both Russia and Turkey. Therefore, the main task of Moscow and Ankara is very clear. It is the elimination of all elements that violate the territorial integrity of Syria. Today, it is quite clear that these are the elements and terrorist groups active in Idlib and the separatists in the Eastern Euphrates. Therefore, Turkey and Russia together must eliminate terrorists – fundamentalists and separatists. Moscow and Ankara must view Idlib and the Eastern Euphrates as a united front. The elimination of one group of terrorists, I mean either fundamentalist terrorists or separatist terrorists, is a prerequisite for another. For this reason, the elimination of terrorist groups in Idlib is important not only for Syria, but equally for Turkey and Russia”, Mehmet Perinçek said.
As the Turkish expert noted, the current situation in Idlib, in addition to damaging relations between Turkey and Russia, directly strengthens the position of an enemy of Turkey such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its partners PKK.
“The Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea in one single front”
“The elimination of the terrorist group in Idlib is, first of all, a problem for Turkey. The issue here is not about Russia and Ankara making concessions. Idlib and the Eastern Euphrates are a united front and the terrorist nests here pose a threat to both countries. This contradicts our common interests”, the Turkish expert said.
Perinçek believes that Turkey and Russia can cooperate not only in Syria. There is also an opportunity and a need for cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
“The United States has created an anti-Turkish blockade in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea are inseparable from each other in the US strategy to besiege Turkey and Russia. Therefore, by joining forces, they will be able to prevent American aggression in these regions”, he summarized.