Russian crisis worries Turkish businesses
Hopes that Western sanctions against Moscow would benefit Turkey appear to have been premature.
The friendship between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin clearly bolsters the positive atmosphere between the two countries. It is, however, no secret that mutual economic interests provide the driving force for Turkish-Russian ties today.
The present volume of these interests, and official plans to further boost it, ensures that political differences Ankara and Moscow have on various issues, most notably over Syria, do not cast a shadow over ties.
Dark clouds have nevertheless started gathering over economic relations because of Russia’s economic woes. Despite the optimistic official outlook for these relations, the effects of Western sanctions on Russia — and the sharp decline in oil prices, which has amplified Russia’s troubles — are also worrying the Turkish business community.
The downturn in Russia comes at a time when the two countries pledged, during Putin's Dec. 1 visit to Turkey, to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2020.
