In Russian-Turkish relations it is necessary to clearly separate politics and economy — Denis Denisov

Speaking with Alpha News, political scientist Denis Denisov commented on the statement by the President of Turkey that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine as well as Russian-Iranian relations.

“Turkey has had this position for 10 years now, and this is not the first time Erdogan has said that Turkey considers Crimea to be Ukraine. To dispel any suspicions, we can simply look at the dynamics of economic relations between Turkey and Russia. This is Turkey’s political position. In this regard, on the one hand, it is directed against Russia, but on the other hand, such statements are quite predictable; Erdogan makes them based on Turkey’s national interests. In this regard, we must clearly separate politics, economy, and civilizational guidelines,” Denisov noted.

Referring to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s response to Iranian MPs’ criticism of Russia over the so-called “Zangezur corridor,” the expert noted that it is more effective to simply ignore such attacks.

“Iran has its own geopolitical interests in the South Caucasus region and its own vision of how processes should proceed in this region. In this regard, you can either focus on criticism or simply ignore it. It seems to me that in the current conditions it is much more effective to simply ignore such attacks, especially since Russian-Iranian relations are currently experiencing a surge in development. There are often disagreements, but this is because the interests of the two regional leaders do not always coincide, and the South Caucasus area is the center of interests of a number of large regional states, so now it is better to simply resolve this issue through diplomatic channels and not make it public,” Denisov said.