We did not beat Turks enough — Viktor Baranets

Speaking with Alpha News, Russian military observer Viktor Baranets commented on Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s statement that Crimea should return to Ukraine.

“Turkey is a terribly cunning woman who can sit not on two but on six, even ten chairs. Before the meeting with Putin, he (Erdogan) wants to show the Pentagon that he still remains a supporter of Ukrainian Crimea. Why didn’t he say it is still Turkish? Apparently, we did not beat the Turks enough, but you know, there are big political games going on now. Erdogan is playing his own game. He often gives compliments and then goes and pinches us a little. It is impossible to understand Erdogan’s political face, because it is a true Turkish face,” the expert said.

According to him, Russia’s contacts with Turkey are only based on mutual benefit and healthy pragmatism, and based on this, it can tolerate the antics of the Turkish leadership from time to time.

“We are playing with Turkey only to slowly take it out of NATO and to get the concessions that it can make. Turkey says that Crimea is Ukrainian, and we can forbid our people to go to Turkey. And then their national budget can collapse. But we play with Turkey exactly as much as it is beneficial to us. And we will play. We use only those positions of Erdogan that are beneficial to us. At certain stages, Erdogan can even be a temporary ally of Russia. We should also use this to our advantage. Everyone wants Erdogan to be, you know, straight as a pencil, like a telegraph pole. This will never happen. Erdogan is cunning, Erdogan is very, I tell you, national. He plays on the feelings of his own voters. So, you know, we will swallow these bitter pills about Crimea. Still, there is more hope that sometimes Erdogan does us much more good than harm and words will remain words,” Baranets concluded.