Turkey Wants to Hit the Jackpot: Expert Explained Why Ukraine Was Not Invited to Negotiations in Ankara

Ukraine’s representatives were not invited to Russian-Turkish talks about lifting the blockade of the Black Sea ports and resuming export of the Ukrainian grain, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the President of Ukraine, said.

Ihor Semyvolos, the Director of the Middle East Research Center, explained the role and tactics of Turkey regrading Ukrainian ports and grain export during his appearance on Freedom TV channel. 

"Turkey wants to become the main beneficiary of this process. They want to hit the jackpot. Under certain circumstances, Turkey may cast itself as the lifesaver of the entire world or at least the Middle East and African countries. Here, the Ukraine’s consent is the only thing required for a final lucrative deal. Although, I believe that in this regard our country may take up a pretty tough and assertive attitude, since these matters are directly related to our security and crucial for our policy”, the expert explained.

He also noted that Turkey’s key problem is now associated with the upcoming elections. The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking the steps in order to strengthen his credibility.

“This is a global issue. It’s directly associated with the upcoming presidential elections in 2023. Mr. Erdogan perfectly realizes that this is a very popular topic and attempts to strengthen his credibility. The similar sentiments are common not only within the governing party, but also among the opposition. Therefore, Mr. Erdogan may try to capitalize on this chance he has now”, Semyvolos noted.

According to the experts, Turkey attempts to explain the tension in relations with USA by claiming that its interests are being disregarded.

“The islamists represented by Mr. Erdogan are more focused on the Middle East region and attempt to use the Middle East in order boost their role in relations with the USA and Europe. Although, this approach didn’t work as expected, and Turkey got engaged in the pretty difficult hostilities in the Middle East without much success. It appears that now Turkey’s policy in the Middle East region contradicts the policy of the United States in many ways”, the expert summarized.

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