Russia not to be caught in Turkey’s trap – Anna Glazova

Russia’s response to Turkey will be as strong as possible, Anna Glazova, Head of the Center for Asia and the Middle East, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies (RISS), told Tert.am as she commented on the incident involving a Russian warplane downed by Turkey.

“It was an act of provocation on Turkey’s part. Turkey thus wanted to entrap Russia with a purpose of provoking a war between Russia and NATO member-states. And it was no coincidence that, immediately after downing the Russian jet, Turkey applied to NATO for support. But we are not going to be caught in this trap by retaliating,” Ms Glazova said.

Russia’s response to Turkey will be cutting cooperation in different areas. Thus, Russia has decided to reduce the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey for security reasons.

“Also, Russia will reduce its exports to Turkey, and I do not rule out Russia will recall its ambassador to Turkey,” the expert said. Further steps depend on Turkey’s response, Ms Glazova said.

Asked what forced Turkey into that deliberate act of provocation, she said that Russia’s anti-terrorist actions in Syria run counter to the Turkish leadership’s interests.

“Turkey has for recent years been seeking to overthrow Bashar al-Assad. With this end in view, it is supporting radical Islamists thereby seeking to bring a pro-Turkish force to power in Syria. However, Russia’s anti-terrorist actions interfered with Turkey’s plans and had to be stopped,” Ms Glazova said.

As to the opinions that Russia could respond to Turkey by means of Armenia in the context of Armenian-Turkish relations, the expert said that Armenia and Russia are friendly nations, and all the states supportive of Russia’s actions must unite against the threat.

Armenia’s support could be reflected in its supporting the Christian minority in the Middle East, Ms Glazova said.