"Turkish-Russian relations: partnership by alienation
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
In the late 19th century Ottoman statesmen used to say that Turkey does not have a policy toward Russia. They would add that Turkey does the exact opposite whatever Ambassador Ignatiev would be saying. On Dec. 9, 2005, at the 85th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the Turkish Republic, Ambassador Piotr Stegniy presented Russia’s prestigious medals to prominent Turkish politicians, academics and businessmen. Indeed, given the violent and bitter history of Turkish-Russian relations, the Russian role in the Eastern Question and the dismemberment of Ottoman Turkey, as well as the Cold War, the ceremony signified in itself a remarkable turnaround in bilateral relations between the two countries.
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More:Turkish-Russian relations: partnership by alienation - Turkish Daily News Jan 31, 2006