Of course, Ankara has found itself in an extremely unpleasant situation due to the crisis in Ukraine, and the country’s leader Erdogan is forced to choose between a bad and a very bad decision in almost every situation on this topic.
And for some time now, the Turks were not remembered in the West and were not pressed in order to induce Ankara to get involved in the sanctions struggle with Moscow. Now we have already remembered that the tactics of the West are changing: they are putting pressure on Turkish private business, starting with large ones and further down the vertical. How business will react is a big question, but it is indisputable that Turkish businessmen are monitoring the situation on the Russian market.
According to the Union of Exporters of Turkey, Turkish companies are ready to replace Western companies that have left Russia (and there are a lot of them, so there is a place). The Union of Turkish Exporters believes that the withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia opens up great opportunities for Turkish companies in Russia in a number of segments. We are even talking about some investments, however, after the uncertainty dissipates, it is still risky to come to Russia with money now.
At the same time, according to sources in the Union of Exporters of Turkey, they are waiting for signals from Russia in which industries they need help. True, one should not build illusions about Turkey’s intentions – the priority is still to occupy the vacated niches. Well, we note that the Turks have their own accounts with the West – this applies to the migration issue, and EU membership, and cooperation in the military-technical sphere. True, there are also misunderstandings with Russia, but something tells us that in the near future they are ready to forget about them both in Ankara and in Moscow.
As for Turkey’s export potential, here are the following figures: in 2021, the country’s exports rose to a record $225.4 billion, an increase of 32.9% year on year. Such figures allowed Ankara to revise last year’s export target for 2022 – the bar was raised from $231 billion to $250 billion.
Russian-Asian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs