Russian ambassador: 'Do not leave Russian markets over economic crisis'

Sevil Erkuş ANKARA

Hürriyet Daily News Ankara Bureau Chief Serkan Demirtaş (L), Hürriyet Ankara Bureau Chief Deniz Zeyrek (2nd L) and Hürriyet Daily News reporter Sevil Erkuş (2nd R) pose with Russia’s Turkey Ambassador Andrey Karlov (R).

The Russian ambassador to Turkey has called on Turkish businessmen to remain in the Russian market, despite the depreciation of the ruble, which has deeply impacted a number of Turkish investors in the country.

“Don’t act with panic at the moment,” Andrey Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey told Hürriyet Daily News on Dec. 25, calling on Turkish investors to “not leave Russian markets,” after the ruble’s crash.  

Recalling that Turkish companies in particular are taking a larger share of the Russian construction market, the ambassador said, “Those who continue doing business in Russia will suffer for a while, but their losses will be compensated within a few years.”

Foreign companies that flee Russia due to the current economic crisis will want to “return to the Russian market, but they will have difficulty attaining their previous standings,” he said.

The market vacuum created if Turkish investors escape the country could be filled by Chinese investors, according to the envoy.

Chinese contractors are trying to access the more favorable areas in the Russian market, Karlov said, citing a project to build a bridge connecting Russia to Crimea across the Kerch Strait.

Exchange rate effects on the ruble are sure to influence economic ties between Russia and other countries, including Turkey, but Ankara and Moscow agreed to increase trade under their own national currencies rather than the U.S. dollar, Karlov said.

Crimea has economic potential for Turkey

Crimea could become a favorable economic tie between Turkey and Russia, according to Karlov, who also expressed hope that his most significant success during his tenure in Turkey would be if Turkey changed its position on the Crimean issue.

Asked if an unofficial Turkish delegation would pay a visit to Crimea, a proposal that Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu raised during talks with Russian officials in Ankara in December, the ambassador said they would welcome any delegation from Turkey, parliamentarian or otherwise.

'Turkish pipeline is the project of the century'

Elaborating on Russia’s decision to redirect the South Stream pipeline through Turkey, the ambassador said the capacity of the Turkish stream would be 63 billion cubic meters.

“Ukraine showed us that direct methods of transporting natural gas are more advantageous than transitional methods,” said the ambassador, noting that Turkey would benefit by purchasing its energy supply from Russia directly.  

Ukraine was not reliable as a transit country, the ambassador said, noting that Kiev was stealing natural gas from the transit pipeline even when the country was in a better condition economically.

Ambassador Karlov did not elaborate much on the possible terms of an agreement between Turkey and Russia on the pipeline, saying that company officials from both countries are still working on them.

“What matters is that Turkey will be more independent from its energy sources,” the ambassador noted. “The Turkish pipeline is the project of the century,” he said.

The western world has discouraged Turkey, arguing that Ankara would be dependent on Russia; however, the Turkish stream would serve the interests of both countries, Karlov said.

The section of the Turkish stream on Russian territory is ready, while construction of the rest of the pipeline through the Black Sea basin and onto Turkish soil is under discussion, he said.
Russia proven right on Syria

Moscow has offered Russia as a venue where several Syrian opposition groups could gather, Karlov said, excluding “terrorist groups.” “We can arrange a meeting where opposition groups and the Syrian government can convene,” he stated.

When it comes to each country’s respective stance on Syria, given their differences on the crisis, Russia has been proven right, he said.

Turkey and Russia have had a routine mechanism for dialogue on the Syrian issue, the ambassador said, citing a recent visit by Undersecretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Feridun Sinirlioğlu to Moscow.
Decrease prices of packages to Turkey

Turkey’s tourism sector attracts a large number of Russian tourists every year, but the recent depreciation of the ruble remains a major concern for next year, as the citizens of Turkey’s northern neighbor may cut spending. Karlov stressed that the number of tourists visiting Turkey from Russia must be maintained.

If travel agencies decrease the prices of travel packages to Turkey, that could help maintain the number of visiting tourists, otherwise alternate destinations such as Egypt might be more attractive to Russian tourists, he noted.

Some 62,961 Russians visited Turkey in November, compared to 77,210 in the same month of 2013, a fall of 18.45 percent according to the latest statistics published by the tourism ministry. More than 4.2 million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2013.