TURKEY was the first Nato country to provide Ukraine withBayraktar combat drones during the early stage of the Ukraine war, when other Nato partners were still hesitating over military aid.

It also contributed equipment, including Kirpi armoured troop carriers and body armour, to Ukraine. Last October, the first of four Ada-class corvettes built for Ukraine was launched at an Istanbul shipyard.

At the same time, Turkey has always had excellent relations with Russia, and continues to do so despite Russia’s war with Ukraine.

It also refuses to take part in the sanctions on Russia, introduced by the US and EU, to put the Russian economy, in the words of EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, “in tatters” as a prelude to a regime change.

This is in line with Turkey’s policy of only following sanctions approved by the UN Security Council.

Much to the consternation of the US and its allies, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also maintained regular contact with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin.

Turkey has argued that there is a need for a Nato country to remain neutral so that the communication lines between Russia and Nato remain open.

Since the start of the war on February 24 last year, Ankara has carefully balanced relations with the two warring sides. Trusted by both, it was Turkey that the two countries sought for peace talks in March 2022, just a month after the war commenced.

These peace talks in Istanbul would have ended the war as Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky appeared ready for peace, but just as Moscow and Kyiv almost reached an agreement, former British prime minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv and sabotaged the peace deal.

Speaking to Newsweek in September, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov said the prospect of peace between Russia and Ukraine had so “obviously frightened the Americans and the British, so they actually forbade Ukraine to conduct further dialogue with Russia”.

Had the peace deal became a reality, not only Russia and Ukraine but the world would be indebted to Turkey for eliminating the sufferings brought about by the war.

Together with the UN, Turkey successfully brokered the Black Sea Grain Initiative to reintroduce vital food and fertiliser exports from Ukraine to the rest of the world.

The deal allowed exports from Ukraine of grain, other foodstuffs, and fertiliser, including ammonia, to resume through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor from three key Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, to the rest of the world. This had the aim of bringing food prices down around the world.

On October 29, Russia suspended participation in the initiative due to a drone attack by Ukraine on the Russian Black Sea fleet near Sevastopol in the Crimean Peninsula, alleging lleged British navy “specialists” had helped coordinate the “terrorist” attack. 

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu that Moscow should re-evaluate the suspension of its participation.

After four days of telephone diplomacy between Erdogan and Putin, as well as other officials on both sides, Moscow announced on November 2 it was rejoining the pact.

“He (Putin) doesn’t agree to open this grain corridor through others. But with me, when I call … straight away he opened the grain corridor,” Erdogan said.

That goes to show how the US and EU leaders have lost their diplomacy skills because of their war-mongering stance in their refusal allow peace negotiations to end the Ukraine war.

In March, Moscow agreed to extend the Black Sea pact for a further 60 days, until May 18, instead of 120 days unless its demands regarding its agricultural exports were met.

Again, it was Erdogan who stepped in with a phone call to Putin. It was announced on May 17 that the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal has been extended for two more months.

In an interview with CNN on May 19, Erdogan said this “was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin.”

“The West is not leading a very balanced approach. You need a balanced approach towards a country such as Russia, which would have been a much more fortunate approach,” he said. – May 27, 2023.

* Jamari Mohtar reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.