Its economy is on the brink of collapse, the Turkish currency, the lira, has been falling for years, and more and more people in the country can no longer afford to live.
By Benedict Weimer
This is one of the reasons why Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (68) did NOT support the sanctions against Russia. This makes Turkey the only NATO country that continues to trade with Russia as it did before the war – and could still benefit from the withdrawal of Western companies.
Erdoğan acts as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, only spoke to Kremlin despot Putin again on Thursday and invited him to a meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (44) in Turkey.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba (49) is said to have even wished for Turkey to become one of the guarantors of a possible peace agreement with Russia. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (54) said Russia was in agreement.
Erdoğan and his country are already benefiting from his role as a mediator: Putin’s invasion as a glimmer of hope for the flagging Turkish economy!
► While almost all Western airlines have suspended their flights to Russia, the partially state-owned Turkish Airlines continues to fly to destinations there.
Russian shopping malls have already announced their readiness to replace Western clothing and fashion brands with Turkish ones. Turkish companies are still active in the country, some are now preparing to enter the market – while one large Western company after another is closing its shops.
The Turkish fast food chain Chitir Chicken, for example, now wants to open branches in Russia. If Russia agrees, a network of 500 to 600 sales outlets could soon be set up there, reports the Russian daily Izvestia.
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Russian shopping centers are therefore in agreement and want to award closed McDonald’s areas to the Turks. The Turkish chain could boot out the US mega-corporation!
However, the Turkish economy is currently still suffering massively from the war. Because it is dependent on Russia for tourism, energy and food supplies, among other things.
The Turks import around 40 percent of their natural gas and a quarter of their oil requirements from Russia – a business that is now almost unaffordable. For the Russian gas alone, the Turkish government expects costs of around 40 billion dollars this year – about twice as much as in the previous year.
Russia is also the most important wheat supplier for Turkey. In 2021, 70 percent of Turkey’s grain imports came from there. The fact that Russia now wants to limit grain exports could have dramatic consequences for many Turks, driving up the prices of bread and pasta.