Türkiye should consider risks of energy dependence on Russia - expert

Türkiye should take into account the risks of energy and economic dependence on Russia and take into account its entire "hybrid arsenal." The Ukrainian side is ready to share its experience in combating Russian hybrid threats.

This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform following the Stratcom Summit in Istanbul by Yevgeniya Gaber, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Center in Modern Turkish Studies at Carleton University, PhD in Political Science.

"Using specific examples, I demonstrated how useful it is for our Turkish partners to take into account how dependence on energy resources, the Russian market, and the presence of Russian cultural and diaspora associations allows them to destabilize society from within, manipulate public opinion, and put pressure on foreign governments," Yevgeniya Gaber said about her speech at the panel, New Conflict Zones, Crises and Risks in the 21st Century at Stratcom Summit.

The scientist emphasized that it is important to be more resilient to external influences, and the Ukrainian side is ready to share its experience in combating hybrid threats with Türkiye.

"Gas 'needle', nuclear energy, food security, refugees, cultural events and history textbooks - the choice of tools in the Russian 'hybrid arsenal' is rich, so it is important to know your vulnerabilities and strengthen your resilience to external influences. Emphasizing that the Ukrainian side is ready to share its experience in combating hybrid threats, I wanted to warn our Turkish partners about possible future threats," Yevgeniya Gaber stated in an interview.

The expert also gave an example of Russia's hybrid influence, in particular, how Russia's current practice of blocking grain supplies to international markets and exporting and selling stolen Ukrainian grain from Ukraine is in fact a continuation of the Stalinist, communist regime against the Ukrainian people.

The Stratcom Summit was held in Istanbul on November 24-25. Ukraine was represented by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Vasilisa Stepanenko, along with Yevgeniya Gaber. At the panel titled Reality through the Lens of Truth: Humanitarian Crises and Conflicts, she demonstrated and told the participants about Russia's occupation of Mariupol.

As Ukrinform reported, at the opening of the summit, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Türkiye was ready to provide a platform for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.