Baku, Azerbaijan, May 6
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Nobody had a doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Yerevan for the events marking the centenary of "Armenian genocide" won't remain unanswered by Turkey, which sees this date as a centenary of betrayal of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
Despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's calls to visit Turkey for the centenary of the Battle of Canakkale on April 24, the heads of such countries as Russia and France went to Yerevan, taking in this matter the side of their historical ally.
Ankara expressed serious dissatisfaction with the Russian president's visit to Yerevan on April 24.
Commenting on the visit of the heads of France and Russia, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said this decision casts doubt on the neutrality of the Minsk Group of the OSCE.
Earlier, the Turkish media said Erdogan won't attend the Victory Parade in Moscow, to be held May 9. Instead of the president, Turkey will be represented by the country's ambassador to Russia, Umit Yardim.
But earlier it was expected that Erdogan himself will visit Russia on May 9. Instead, Erdogan will visit Germany on that day.
Of course, the Russian president's visit to Yerevan can't but irritate Turkey, as before this visit, Ankara was seeing Moscow as the closest economic partner.
And the Turkish president's cancellation of his visit to Moscow is nothing more than a response to Putin's visit to Yerevan.
Despite claims by Russia that the relations between Ankara and Moscow will not deteriorate, this seems very unlikely.
Aside from that, another role in the deterioration of the two countries' bilateral relations was played by a discount made by Russia for the Turkish private companies for the gas supplied to Turkey.
Turkish BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation was expecting Russia to make 15 percent discount for the gas supplied to Turkey. However, Gazprom agreed on May 5 to offer discount only to private Turkish companies which account for over a third of Russian gas import.
The gas discount for Turkey's private sector will near 25 percent in the first quarter and additional 15 percent in the second quarter of 2015. As a result, Turkey's private companies will pay around $260 per 1,000 cubic meters of Russian gas in May.
Ankara assessed this gesture by Moscow as a tool of pressure on Turkey. Pro-government media outlets of this country say that President Putin didn't keep his promise to Turkey. During the last visit to Ankara, Putin promised to make 15-percent discount for Russian gas delivered to Turkey. Moreover, with the implementation of the Turkish Stream project, Ankara hoped that this discount will further increase. This was also stated by Turkish Ahmet Davutoglu at the time.
Nevertheless, one should think over the latest statement by Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz saying that Turkey will not buy gas via the Turkish Stream in the case of implementation of this project.
This statement suggests that Ankara is fully confident that Moscow will not make a discount for the gas delivered to Turkey.
Against the backdrop of the political and economic disagreements between Ankara and Moscow, Russia's dream - the Turkish Stream project - will suffer the most. It is not ruled out that against the background of all the latest developments, Russia will have to say goodbye to its dream...
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Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Agency's Arabic news service, follow him on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
