Presidential aide warns not to marginalize Russian citizens

ANKARA

One must take care of not marginalizing Russian citizens while criticizing policies of the Russian government over its military intervention into Ukraine, the president’s chief foreign policy adviser İbrahim Kalın said on March 3.

“It is possible to criticize Russia’s faulty policies without marginalizing and demonizing Russian people and culture; to defend the sovereign rights and independence of Ukraine without being provoked by anyone,” he tweeted.

“Do not go over the limit even in wartime,” Kalın said.

“The one who goes too far turns into his opposite,” he added.

Noting that as Ankara tries to keep a balance not to hurt its ties with Russia, Kalın earlier said Turkey does not plan to impose sanctions against Moscow. Kalın on March 1 pointed out the fact that Turkey and Russia have close economic and trade ties and that Ankara also wants to keep lines of communication open with Moscow.

Some 29,000 Russians and 8,000 Ukrainian nationals live in the Turkish southern province of Antalya. Many of those Russians and Ukrainians residing in Antalya are working in the province’s large tourism industry.

Antalya is a favorite destination among millions of Russian and Ukrainian holidaymakers. Last year, more than 3.5 million Russians and 1.3 million Ukrainians vacationed in the provinces.

In 2021, Turkey hosted 4.7 million Russian and 2 million Ukrainian visitors. Russians and Ukrainians accounted for 19 percent and 8.3 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals in the country, respectively.

There have been several protests against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in major Turkish cities since the Russian attack on the Ukrainian territory on Feb. 24.