Statement by YABLOKO Bureau, 09.12.2015

The reaction of the Russian leadership on the tragic death of Russian military Oleg Peshkov and Alexander Pozynich turned out to be asymmetric and strange. The [authorities] chose to strike a blow on cultural and educational ties between our nations. Such negative developments in the relations between Russia and Turkey arises much concern.

Closure of the Russian-Turkish Scientific Centre at the Library of Foreign Literature, [unilateral] termination of agreements and cooperation with Turkish educational institutions by Russian universities, as well as the project on termination of the agreement on scientific and technical cooperation with Turkey of 1992 which has been prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science represent a constituent part of the anti-human and anti-social approach of the President and the Government of the Russian Federation, when cultural, social and economic ties between the two countries become hostages and victims of inter-state disputes.

YABLOKO believes the tragic death of the military is the consequence of the ambitions and inability to negotiate of the statesmen of the two countries. It is politicians and diplomats, rather than citizens of Russia and Turkey, who bear the responsibility for the tragedy, and have to review their approaches to the developments in Syria and bilateral relations.

Conflicting with another state, the Kremlin is punishing the nations both countries, rather than someone else. As the experience of the so-called “self-sanctions” on food-stuffs imposed by President Putin in 2014 against the EU member states and some other countries, such economic restrictions lead to significant price increases in Russia causing serious damage to the population of Russia. There is no doubt that the introduction of such measures against Turkey will also affect the living standards of Russian citizens.

YABLOKO emphasises: curtailing of Russian-Turkish educational, cultural and socio-economic projects affects a number of regions of our multiethnic and multi-confessional country and can lead to significant discontent of the population.

At present the Russian state considers the society as subjects and not citizens. Any time, without a broad public debate and a full parliamentary debate, this or that country can be virtually banned for tourist trips, and long-standing cultural, scientific and educational ties can be declared undesirable and be disrupted.

YABLOKO considers such attitude of the President and the government of the Russian Federation to the citizens of our country, their rights and interests be completely wrong. Established and developing relations between the two nations in different fields can not and should not be regarded as political trump cards and instruments of pressure. People living in Russia and Turkey are not figures in a chess game of two political regimes: that of President Putin and President Erdogan.

Strongly condemning the actions of the Turkish military (as the Russian plane could not represent a serious threat to the security of Turkey), YABLOKO notes that the Russian leadership bears its share of responsibility for what has happened: a risky [military] undertaking in Syria, without coordinating it with the key actors in the region, were initially fraught with such tragic incidents.

YABLOKO urges [the Russian President and the government] to fully restore the interrupted cultural, educational, tourist and economic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey.

Sergei Mitrokhin,

Chairman of the YABLOKO party