A Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone unveiled during a rehearsal of a military parade on a street in Kyiv, August 20, 2021. EFREM LUKATSKY v AP
Almost two months into the war in Ukraine, relations between Turkey and that country have never appeared so robust, at the risk of undermining the belligerent balance policy advocated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Due to its privileged relations with Moscow and Kyiv, Ankara has positioned itself as the main mediator of the conflict, notably hosting two negotiation sessions between the two camps. But the longer the war lasts, the more difficult it is likely to be to maintain this wide rift, as Ankara’s ties with Kyiv warm while they weaken with Moscow.
Also read the analysis: Article reserved for our subscribers Between NATO, Russia and Ukraine, Erdogan positions himself as a peacemaker
Turkey’s Bayraktar drone, delivered before and after the outbreak of hostilities, is being sung by the Ukrainian army, which has used it extensively against the Russian army’s armored columns. Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy often talk on the phone. Turkish and Ukrainian diplomats got to know each other better during talks with Kremlin emissaries on March 10 in Antalya and March 29 in Istanbul. The Kiev government is full of praise for the Turkish ally, which it calls the best support.
We appreciate the humanitarian, diplomatic, moral and military support that Turkey is offering even as it does not apply the sanctions. It has done more to support Ukraine than any other NATO country, a Ukrainian diplomat based in Ankara told Le Monde, concerned about anonymity. “Most of all, we are very grateful to him for closing his straits to all warships,” he said. The decision was not easy, the Turkish side was initially not for it. We managed to convince them, they listened to us when it wasn’t won. »
Guardian of the Strait
For this diplomat it is obvious. “Thanks to Ankara, we were able to save Odessa,” the large Ukrainian port city in the south of the country, which has so far been relatively unscathed by Russian missiles and bombs. Had Turkey failed in its role as guardian of the Straits and closed the Dardanelles and Bosphorus to all warships on the fourth day of the war, February 28, Russia could have sent additional naval reinforcements to the area.
Then a major amphibious assault on the Black Sea city would have been possible, dooming it to the disastrous fate of Mariupol, Chernihiv or Kharkiv, the cities of Ukraine reduced to rubble by Russian missiles and bombs. “Russian military ships from the Far East and from the North Sea Fleet have been in the Mediterranean for several weeks. Had they been able to cross the straits, the situation would be very different,” the diplomat continues.
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