Head of the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Keser, and faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cenker Korhan Demir assessed Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine on TV channels.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Keser commented for viewers on what the effects of the operation on the global system and on Türkiye might be, while Assoc. Prof. Dr. Demir commented on what Russia’s real aim might be.
UKRAINE HAS, AS IT WERE, BEEN OFFERED UP TO RUSSIA
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmet Keser, stating on TV24 that Russia’s intervention in Ukraine is very likely to have significant effects on both the regional and the global system, said, “First of all, the world has welcomed the ‘new enemy’ that will legitimise the USA’s military presence at 803 points across the globe. Thus, instead of a multipolar world system, a new two-and-a-half-polar system has begun to emerge, in which the main actor on the opposing side will occasionally be Russia and mostly China. Ukraine has, as it were, been offered up to Russia for this system to be formed and consolidated. As part of the fight against the sanctions put into effect, a decision has been taken to switch to cryptocurrencies instead of the US dollar and the euro, and the global financial system has thereby begun to be tested. The continuation and success of this trend, which is very likely to be supported by China as well, appears set to be one of the greatest challenges to the global hegemony that the USA maintains through the dollar, language and military presence. The possibility of the dollar and the euro losing their global throne would, for the USA too, open the way to a weakening of global hegemony, a deepening of the financial and economic crisis, and being left alone with new-generation problems.”
POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF RUSSIA’S INTERVENTION IN UKRAINE ON TÜRKİYE
Drawing attention to the fact that Russia’s intervention in Ukraine will have significant effects on Türkiye as on the whole world and the region, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Keser said, “First of all, the hypothesis that depending on a single actor for natural gas and energy resources, whether in European countries or in Türkiye, can have severe consequences has proved its validity. In this sense, the importance of diversifying resources and turning to new sources, above all renewable energy, has once again been proven. In order to make progress on this, efforts to transfer Eastern Mediterranean natural gas reserves to Europe via Türkiye should first be accelerated and intensified, and by developing them as projects through consortia that include countries in need of the resource, above all Germany, Italy and France, the gas should be rapidly connected to Europe. On the other hand, incentives and regulations that will also make individual use ergonomic should urgently be introduced to spread renewable energy sources, especially solar energy, and a switch should be made to new policies, incentives and a tariff system allowing two-way net metering, with the aim that every home can meet its own energy needs.”
RUSSIA’S AIM IS TO BRING ABOUT A CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT IN KYIV THAT WILL SUPPORT IT
Faculty member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Cenker Korhan Demir, noting on A Para TV that Russia’s target is not only the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, said, “Russia’s aim may be to bring about a change of government in Kyiv that will support it, and to stabilise the link between the Donbas region and Crimea. This will not be very easy. If Russia goes as far as Odessa, this would mean Ukraine’s connection with the entire Black Sea being cut off. That would be a very serious development in terms of world politics.”
