The effects of the Syrian crisis on Turkey's strategic considerations towards Russia

Subject Areas : International Relations

taher Heidarzadeh ¹ , Rahmat Hajiminieh ² , nozar shafiee ³

1 - PhD Student in International Relations, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of International Relations, Faculty of Humanities, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Department of political Sciences, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Received: 2021-01-14 Accepted : 2022-03-04 Published : 2022-03-04

Keywords: Russia, Turkey, Syria, Aggressive realism, contingent realism,

Abstract :

Given the sensitivity of developments in Syria and the implementation of the intentions of other countries in this environment, including Russia and Turkey, in addition to the areas of threat and opportunity in relations with each other can also affect the strategic considerations of the two countries. Russia and Turkey have always had common interests in the field of geoeconomics and conflicting interests in the field of geopolitics, which has led to the formation of common and conflicting interests in relations between the two countries. Russia and Turkey went so far in the Syrian crisis that there was a possibility of a direct confrontation between the two countries, but the two countries avoided a possible conflict due to strategic considerations. The purpose of this study is the impact of the Syrian crisis on Turkey's strategic considerations towards Russia. This study raises the question of what effect has the Syrian crisis had on Turkey's strategic considerations towards Russia? Descriptively-analytically, it assesses the hypothesis that: The Syrian crisis, by exposing Turkey's vulnerability to Russia's response, shifted Ankara's strategic considerations from aggressive realism to contingent realism in its relations with Moscow, replacing cooperation with confrontation. The research findings prove this point.