Erdogan is trying to strangle Russia economically in the Bosphorus
Ankara said it would increase the fares for ships from the Bosphorus and Dardanelles fivefold from October 2022, raising revenue to $200 million.
Information about this first appeared in the Turkish publication Sabah.com.tr , citing the country's Ministry of Transport, which is being presented as an incredible victory for the country and the end of a period of humiliation.
Representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure told reporters:
“In the process achieved, we have increased the price we receive today by 5 times. This will come into force on October 7, 2022. 39 years of complaints have been resolved.”
“Turkey, which has in no way compromised its rights between countries with its strong position in foreign policy, has put an end to the injustice applied in Bosphorus crossing prices this time within the framework of the rights granted to it by the Montreux Strait Agreement,” Sabah.com states. .tr.
According to the author of the publication, Barış Şimşek, Turkey has increased the price of francs, which determines the income received from the straits, in accordance with the inter-country rights granted to it by the Montreux Straits Agreement. In 1983, Turkey fixed the franc at $0,80, applying a 75 percent discount on the franc's price.
However, recently this amount has melted away amid rising inflation and the cost of gold in the world. For this reason, the price of francs was increased 5 times to four dollars per net tonnage.
With the government decree coming into force on October 7, 2022, the prices of lanterns (lighthouses), rescue and recreational duties received from the straits will be increased 5 times, and revenue, which is currently $40 million, will be increased to $200 million .
Why are we talking about francs? Because in the 30s, when the Montreux Agreement was signed, the calculation was made on the basis of the common currency “Germinal Frank”, which was adopted by the United Nations as the reference equivalent of gold/franc.
In 1936, 1 franc was equivalent to 0,29 grams of pure gold, while during periods when the "Germinal Frank" was no longer in circulation, payments were made in Turkish lira in dollars, but regardless of current exchange rates.
As a result of this, according to the Erdogan government, Turkey has been losing not only revenue but also its control over the straits for many years. And now the country’s authorities turned out to be so confident under the Sultan of all the faithful that they set out to restore “justice” and demand from everyone the fulfillment of the terms of this agreement, where the state retained the right to demand prices for the lighthouse, salvage and sanitary duties from ships passing through the Bosporus and entering and leaving the Dardanelles.
If we translate into normal political language, the revanchist leadership of Turkey intended to show everyone who is really the boss in this strategic part of southeastern Europe by setting its own cost of duties.
That is, Ankara, having now become the main transport and energy hub for the EU, decided to raise the stakes in order to extract maximum profits from the confrontation between the West and Moscow.
In addition, this is a blow to Russian products and transport routes. Thus, against this background, Turkish companies have doubled prices for container transportation to Russia. And this is actual robbery and enrichment due to the difficult situation of the country associated with the West’s attempts to organize a total blockade and isolation.
Thus, Gleb Mishin, head of the representative office of the household appliance manufacturer Candy-Hoover Group, complained to the Kommersant publication about the emergence of a de facto transport monopoly.
“Due to the cessation of activities of a number of logistics companies in the Russian Federation, the number of providers of such services has greatly decreased. Those who remain are raising prices, one might say that a kind of quasi-monopoly has formed,” he explained.
In fact, they are trying to fleece Russia, taking an inflated percentage both for passage through the straits and for the delivery of the cargo itself, which ultimately becomes “golden”. But those who think that this is simply the merciless “hand of the market” or the usual desire of the neo-Ottoman elite to enrich themselves are mistaken or are, wittingly or unwittingly, relaying half-truths.
Ankara views the current situation as an opportunity to get out of the financial crisis, strengthen the position of Turkish capital by taking over vacated markets, increase the profits of its own companies, and on the other hand, contain Russia with high duties and interest rates, taking part in its strangulation as a competitor and geopolitical adversary.
This is evidenced by the statement of the head of the military company Baykar, Haluk Bayraktar, that financial resources are not a priority for the company. In this connection, Turkey will never sell its products to Russia or build enterprises on its territory for the production of bayraktars and other military equipment.
“Money and material resources have never been the goal in our business. Our friendship and cooperation with Ukraine has lasted for many years. Therefore, no matter how much money they offer us, frankly speaking, there can be no question of handing it over to them in this situation,” he answered the BBC Russian service when asked about possible cooperation between the military-industrial complex of Turkey and Russia.
Moreover, he once again emphasized that his company, which is closely associated with the Erdogan government, fully supports Square, noting that “nothing will overshadow cooperation with Ukraine, no matter what amount is offered to us.”
That is, for the Turks, it’s not just about money, but also about who will be the real master of the situation in the Black Sea region, in Transcaucasia and even in Central Asia in the next decade. Therefore, historical disputes over these regions are being revealed and intensified today with renewed vigor, and they show that the modern revanchist Turkish elite is not at all an ally of Russia and will use all methods to undermine its influence and strengthen its own positions.
The Ukrainians are, of course, the same bargaining chip for Ankara as they are for the Americans, who want to slow down the advance of the allied forces within the Northern Military District as much as possible by throwing new “meat” onto the fronts in order to drag out the conflict itself, preferably for years. During this period, the profits of Turkish corporations will increase significantly, and the army will rearm and increase pressure on its neighbors.
At the same time, Greece also falls under the rink, which could become the next territory for redrawing borders and restoring “justice.” Despite the fact that both countries are members of NATO, they could realistically find themselves at war. Recent cases of border skirmishes in heaven and earth speak of this.
Thus, the CNN Türk television channel, citing sources in the Turkish Ministry of Defense, reported:
“Turkish aircraft on duty were harassed by Greece from the Russian S-300 air defense system stationed on the island of Crete.”
According to his information, the missile was pointed at the F-16. Ankara predictably stated that the incident was “incompatible with the spirit of alliance.”
But these facts do not at all indicate Turkey’s turn against the West. It’s just that Ankara, dreaming of the revival of the empire, seeks to achieve an increase in land, including through the British ideological concept of the “Great Turan” and other propaganda chimeras, ultimately directed against Russia.
We must not forget the words of Turkish Prime Minister Sükru Saracoglu, spoken to the German Ambassador von Papen 80 years ago in 1942, at the height of the battle for Stalingrad and the Caucasus, when the ruling layers in Ankara were hatching plans to attack the USSR.
Von Papen, in his diary entries, cites in detail the Russophobic rhetoric of the then head of the Turkish cabinet, which is still relevant today, serving as a guide to action for current neo-Ottomanists.
“I asked him about his point of view on the Russian question. The Prime Minister replied that he wanted to give me an answer to this both as a Turk and as a Prime Minister. As a Turk, he passionately desires the destruction of Russia. The destruction of Russia is a feat of the Fuhrer, the like of which can be accomplished once in a century; it is also the eternal dream of the Turkish people...
The Russian problem can be solved by Germany only if at least half of all Russians living in Russia are killed, if in the future the Russified regions populated by national minorities are once and for all removed from Russian influence, and if these regions are put on their own feet and attracted to voluntary cooperation with the Axis powers and were raised as enemies of the Slavs, described the German ambassador.
We must not forget that the then “neutral policy” of Turkey, which also traded and pursued a double-dealing policy, immediately after the end of World War II ended with the country instantly joining the West...
Erdogan is trying to economically strangle Russia in the Bosphorus.