Russia is Turkey’s second largest source of tourists (four million ever year) and its second biggest trade partner. Additionally, Russia accounts for a fifth of Turkey’s entire energy supply. There were plans for Rosatom to build Turkey’s first nuclear plant next year and Ankara and Moscow were supposed to team up for a new gas pipeline called Turkish Stream.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has already advised Russians not to visit Turkey and the Federal Tourism Agency has called on Tour Operators to halt sales to the country. This is probably just the start. Russians feel betrayed by Turkey. Erdogan will, most probably, reap a whirlwind. Putin has many options.What sort of madness has possessed the mind of Erdogan and the current Turkish leadership as a whole? Is the continued existence of a gang of drugged-out-of-their-minds pig fuckers called ISIS more inportant to Turkey than their economic, cultural, and political relationship with Russia? Russia isn't going anywhere but ISIS is a fading blip on history's radar so you have to choose your friends and enemies wisely.
And do these war-loving fools realize that elections do not automatically give a regime moral authority and political credibility? Erdogan won the last popular vote with such a wide margin due to two things: state terrorism and vote rigging. He is not popular enough to lead Turkey let alone the Muslim world as he imagines himself to be. How popular can he be when he is publicly defending the highly unpopular ISIS terrorists? Public support for his government has been dwindling in the last few years. His government murdered people at peaceful rallies to sway political opinion inside the country. Assad never did that, despite publicized reports to the contrary.
So the result of the recent election that emboldened Erdogan means nothing. It certainly doesn't give the Erdogan cabal carte blanche to attack Russia and draw NATO further into a losing fight on the side of ISIS.
Washington and Europe would be wise to take Turkey out of NATO for this latest provocation and get out of the business of regime change in the Middle East altogether.
