Retired Brigadier General Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel “Türkiye, Russia and China should cooperate against US encirclement”
Fahri Erenel graduated from the Military Academy in 1980 in the department of economics. He completed his BA in Sociology and International Relations; his MA in National and International Security; Educational Administration and Supervision; Occupational Health and Safety; and his PhD in Human Resources Management. Between 1980 and 2010, he served at various levels in the Turkish Armed Forces. He is a B-class occupational safety specialist. He became an Associate Professor in Management and Strategy in 2017. He held various positions on the administrative and academic staff at Altınbaş and Kent Universities. He is still working as a lecturer at Istinye University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration. He is also the author of six books.
How to cite: Erenel, F. (2022). Türkiye, Russia and China should cooporate against US encirclement (Onurcan Balcı, Interviewer). BRIQ Belt & Road Initiative Quarterly, 4(1), 14-24.
"America is doing the same, both in the South China Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean. We can see that America’s containment strategy also aims to block China’s Belt and Road project. The fact that the Zangezur corridor will be opened means that Türkiye can use the middle corridor more easily through Central Asia while China can use it more easily through Türkiye, which the USA wants to avoid. As a soldier, I have been expressing for years that Türkiye should leave the NATO’s military wing, but I think it should stay on the political wing as much as possible. There should be cooperation with Russia. The US’s goal is to create a fault line between Russia and Türkiye and to cut off Türkiye’s connection with Russia over the Black Sea. in a planned process where the Turkish Army stands strong, I think that Türkiye should take initiatives for the recognition of Cyprus independence with the support of China and Russia. There are critical theories and so on in international relations, but today I believe that all these problems can be solved in more realistic ways, namely by force. For this, close regional cooperation is needed. This is exactly what Türkiye should do. In this context, I consider the development of relations with Shanghai Cooperation Organization a very positive move."
Istinye University Lecturer Retired Brigadier General Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel answered BRIQ Managing Editor Onurcan Balcı's questions.
What’s your evaluation of the US’s recent fo- tern Mediterranean issue also covers the regions
cus on boosting its military presence in the Eastern included in the USA’s strategic activities. It is ne-
Mediterranean? cessary to consider the region from Iraq and Syria
Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel: The US has always to Crete, the Greek islands and a part of the Aege-
been increasing activities in Eastern Mediterrane- an Sea, and even Egypt and the Red Sea. America’s
an through terrorist organizations and proxy go- activities in the Eastern Mediterranean can also be
vernments. I have also started to use the concept seen as a continuation of the containment policy
of the Eastern Mediterranean as the Extended Eas- put forward by George F. Kennan.
tern Mediterranean. You know, there is a concept In this context, America does the same thing
that America uses for its projects in the Black Sea, in the South China Sea against China as it does in
the Extended Black Sea. Likewise, in this regard, the Eastern Mediterranean. We know that the Uni-
the Eastern Mediterranean should not be evalua- ted States is engaged in similar activities against
ted only as the east of the Mediterranean. The Eas- any actor that may pose a threat to its strategies.
Retired Brigadier General Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel (right), BRIQ Managing Editor Onurcan Balcı (left). (BRIQ , 2022BRIQ (2022). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)
The basic logic here is not only to surround Türki- America-based hegemonic power in the military
ye but also to take advantage of Russia’s concent- industry and other fields by stopping the westward
ration in Ukraine, to break Russia’s increasing march of Russia and China and cutting the relations
influence in Syria, Egypt, Libya, and especially in of the European Union countries with these count-
the Sahel region, such as Bali and Burkina Faso, ries, as it was during the cold war period.
in the Eastern Mediterranean. On the other hand, With the detection of hydrocarbon resour-
when we consider that Syria is also included in ces in the Eastern Mediterranean and the fact that
the Belt and Road project with a cooperation ag- new ones are being added to them every day, the
reement signed by the Chinese Foreign Minister importance of hydrocarbon resources in this region
with Assad during his visit to Syria, and China’s is increasing, especially in this period where energy
increasing investments in Damascus and Iraq, es- exchanges between European countries and Russia
pecially in the oil industry, we can see that this are minimized. Therefore, if you notice, the USA
is also a strategy being pursued to thwart China’s announced that it withdrew its financial support
Belt and Road Initiative. from the line that would carry the gas to Europe
when its relations with Türkiye slightly improved.
Preventing the Eurasianization of Europe However, when we look at the increasing activities
of the USA, we see stimulating activities such as the
China’s sea routes pass through the ports of Africa, lifting of the arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot
and the USA is trying to prevent the Eurasianization Administration (GCA), the signing of a coopera-
of European countries by cutting these routes. You tion agreement with the Greek Cypriot Administ-
know, preventing the Eurasianization of European ration last year, the increase in the activities in the
countries is a concept put forward by Alexandr Du- port of Suda in Crete and the expansion of the port,
gin in Russia. The USA has the idea of gaining an the presence of two or three base areas here toget-
her with the Alexandroupoli base. There are defen- Ukraine and Lithuania. This is an important histo-
se cooperation agreements signed with Greece. This rical fact. In other words, Poland tends to be one of
extends north, including Bulgaria, Romania, and the most critical countries in Europe.
Poland, and from there, the Baltic countries are also In fact, the Polish Foreign Ministers and the
included in these activities. Romanian Foreign Ministers held two separate
meetings with the participation of our Foreign Minister in Türkiye two months ago under the coor- The USA is currently using Poland as a dination of the United Kingdom. That was actually proxy actor against Europe. Apart from an agreement made for these lines; it was a meeting that, there were concerns in America that to persuade Türkiye as well. But Türkiye is not con- Germany was secretly buying natural vinced about Alexandroupoli. Alexandroupoli is gas from Russia. Leaks in Nord Stream the most critical point of the line going north and lines are very worthy of attention in this south with Crete now that Cyprus has been added. context. As I mentioned, this region is important to prevent China’s westward march. Why? Because the nort-
Therefore, we see the steps of a line that exclu- hern corridor is now closed through Ukraine. On
des Türkiye. It may not seem very connected to the China’s main route, a middle corridor comes from
Eastern Mediterranean at the moment, but Poland the Caucasus and passes through Türkiye. We can
is the key player in the US containment strategy. say that the USA has the idea of closing this line by
The increase in the number of American soldiers in provoking the Armenia-Azerbaijan war again and
Poland and the attitude of the Polish government supporting Armenia.
towards Russia, as you know, aims to eliminate Po-
land’s dependence on Russia by signing a natural The Aim of the USA to Cut off the
gas agreement with Norway. Mediterranean Connection and Imprison
The USA is currently using Poland as a proxy Russia in Its Own Region
actor against Europe. About 2-3 weeks ago, just
as the countries were trying to come together and Russia attaches great importance to the Eas-
form a front against Russia, Poland demanded their tern Mediterranean in the recently accepted
reparations from the Second World War to be paid. naval doctrine. In the naval doctrine published
Apart from that, there were concerns in America by Russia in 2015, while the primary external
that Germany was secretly buying natural gas from threat was NATO’s advance towards Russian
Russia. Leaks in Nord Stream lines are very worthy lines, the main danger is recorded as "the USA
of attention in this context. It is not a coincidence and its allies" in the new document. How do you
that Poland is at the forefront of Europe. Poland has evaluate this?
always aimed to enlarge its territory with the con- Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel: The new naval
cept of three seas: the Black Sea, the Adriatic and doctrine emphasizes the importance of
the Baltic Triangle, for a great Poland. Poland will Russia’s dealing with all international
never give up on this. When we talk about Poland, problems outside the region and having a
we’re talking about a kingdom that includes parts of naval force that will protect Russian interests.
The location of the Northern European countries mentioned in the interview. (BRIQ , 2022BRIQ (2022). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)
I also see this doctrine as one of the most mainly started to practice the naval doctrine. I
important proofs that Alfred Mahan’s concept do not think that Russia gained enough power
of "The Influence of Sea Power upon History" during the Ukraine-Russia war, especially in
is still valid. The increase in investments the navy sharing of the Black Sea navy with
in the naval forces of China and Japan in Ukraine, with the ships coming from the Bal-
the South China Sea is remarkable. In fact, tic and the Caspian navy. Especially if we con-
regarding the question you asked, I think that sider that Sweden and Finland recently joined
one of the most important reasons for the US NATO, the Baltic and Arctic regions gain more
intervention in the Eastern Mediterranean is importance.
the naval doctrine announced by Putin. This In terms of future maritime trade rou-
doctrine enlarged the ports of Latakia in the tes, the USA thinks that the southern line
Mediterranean and the ports of Tartus. has stopped. There is uncertainty in the Me-
Considering the Ukraine war, we can also diterranean, while in the Caucasus, the nort-
think that the USA plans to cut Russia’s Me- hern line is also blocked. The new route in the
diterranean connection and push Russia back north, where the ice will melt, is gaining im-
into its territory. I see the Arctic where Putin portance. Taking this fact into account, Putin
stated that Russia is increasingly focused on Türkiye-China Cooperation in the Middle
the Baltic navy and has accelerated this pro- Corridor
cess by building new ships. In addition, we can
see the training of soldiers resistant to -50 C in How do you evaluate China’s relationship with
the Arctic region under the control of Russia the countries in the Eastern Mediterranean and
and the increase in the number of bases there the region within the Belt and Road Initiative
as steps towards ensuring the security of this framework?
region and the maritime trade routes that will
pass through it. China and Russia also coope- Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel: Relations between
rate in the Arctic. China and Syria are not new. In Syria, we can
think of Xi Jinping’s statements about Syria, the visit of the Foreign Minister later, and the increasing Chinese investments in the Damascus
The fact that the Swedish and Finnish region. Iran also has serious investments there.
navies are organized in accordance We know that there is an agreement between Iran
with the situation and their ability to and China. Some situations include opening an
operate in cold climates is one of the energy corridor to China in the south of Iran.
main reasons for convincing these China is operating hydrocarbon resources there,
countries to join NATO. transferring these resources directly to China’s
industrial zones via Pakistan at discounted prices, and Chinese security forces protect the region.
When we look at all this, we see that Rus- Considering the recent conflicts between Armenia
sia has given its weight to the Arctic and wants and Azerbaijan, I think that China should give the
to preserve its current gains in the Eastern Me- Syrian issue more importance.
diterranean. The USA must have realized this We can currently use the Arctic as a transit
situation because the 11th American Division route for 18–20 days because the ice has not
started training in Alaska about two months yet melted to the required extent. The northern
ago to fight in the cold climate. America has corridor was closed by the Ukraine-Russia war. In
no power to fight Russia in the Arctic region. fact, it killed two birds with one stone. Türkiye’s
NATO has no such capacity. The fact that the cooperation is required for the middle corridor to
Swedish and Finnish navies are organized in be used more actively. Azerbaijan has completed
accordance with the situation and their ability building 57% of the corridor’s land roads within
to operate in cold climates is one of the main its territory. Think about it; it is possible to reach
reasons for convincing these countries to join Europe directly from China using this line.
NATO. In other words, it can be said that the Another line passes through the South but is not
expectation of the USA here is to balance Rus- preferred by China due to the chaotic structure in
sia’s superiority with the help of Sweden and Iraq and Syria. It was difficult to use the line safely
Finland if a NATO-Russia war takes place in and sustainably due to the continuing turmoil in
the Arctic. Iraq, the conflict among the Sunnis, the presence
Trade routes of the Belt and Road Initiative. (T.R. Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, 2021T.R. Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (2021). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)
of PKK and ISIS, the presence of the United the Ukraine war, Putin visited these regions
States in the region, and the inability to form a and explained the doctrine about the gulfs. I
government. think China and Russia are one step ahead in
Considering these, the southern line the Middle East. Both, especially Russia, have
passing through Syria is more reliable. We serious investments in northern Iraq. China
can say that China-Syria relations have also has very serious investments, especially
developed in this context. At the same time, in the Persian Gulf region, which continue
China-Israel relations are also important. to increase. Most of these investments are
According to the latest data, between 5,000 related to oil production.
and 7,000 Chinese engineers cooperate On the other hand, China will take the
with Israel in several fields, including the oil to the east because the oil transported
defense industry. Regarding Middle East through Latakia would be difficult for China.
policy, we can consider the visit of Biden But the oil transported from Iran, from the
to Saudi Arabia right after Xi Jinping and Persian Gulf, would be able to meet China’s
the cooperation agreements between the needs more securely. That’s why there is a
United Arab Emirates and China over the railway line in the agreement. You know,
last two years. In this regard, allegations Iran wanted it to pass through Iran, from the
were made that the United Arab Emirates south of the Caspian Sea, then to connect to
gave a secret base to China. Likewise, before Türkiye from there or to the Mediterranean
via Iraq and Syria. I think China is doing as Türkiye Should Leave NATO’s Military Wing
Iran hoped, but the middle lane is still open.
As long as the US is east of the Euphrates, I’m What kind of strategy do you think Türkiye should
not sure if China can activate these rail lines. follow, considering the US’s containment strategy,
Frankly, I don’t think China will invest more Russia’s measures, and China’s policies?
before the region is stabilized to a certain
degree. Of course, the US has other plans. Assoc. Prof. Fahri Erenel: The United States
was progressive on containment. In general terms, Türkiye’s cooperation with Azerbaijan and its influence in the Caucasus were reconstructed The fact that the Zangezur corridor will with the Second Karabakh war. In addition, the be opened means that Türkiye can use railway line from China bypassing Armenia and the middle corridor more easily through entering Türkiye via Baku, Tbilisi, and Kars is an Central Asia while China can use it more extremely important detail. Of course, the fact easily through Türkiye, which the USA that the Zangezur corridor will be opened means wants to avoid. that Türkiye can use the middle corridor more easily through Central Asia while China can use
After taking the Golan Heights, America it more easily through Türkiye, which the USA
established a huge base at the junction of wants to avoid. That’s why the US re-entered this
Jordan, Syria, and Israel called Al-Tanf and region, recognizing its importance. But in this
has been massing forces for the past months. region, I think Azerbaijan, Türkiye, China, and,
What is the significance of this base? The because of its relations with China, Iran have a
US planned to pass the oil extracted from clear advantage over the USA.
northern Iraq and Qamishli through On the other hand, measures of Armenia to
northern Iraq and Syria when the region was completely eradicate its relationship with Russia,
under PKK control. But since they saw this which supplies 80% of its nuclear energy from a
was impossible, they tried to create a new poorly functioning power plant with 600 Russian
line from the south. That’s why they keep El employees, brings the necessary uranium from
Tanf strong. They are trying to establish a line Russia by planes and cannot pay its debts to
connecting the Golan Heights from El Tanf the Russians even if it gives all its underground
to the Mediterranean via the Druze. After resources, will also fail. Another aspect of the
establishing this line, I think the USA will events is the use of Greece as a proxy. This is not
gradually cut off its relations with elements new. I think it was 2018 when the American Naval
such as the PKK and concentrate these forces Academy discussed a war scenario in this region.
on the route through which the pipeline and In military exercises, we call it the "red-blue states."
highway lines will pass. Of course, it should The USA has used the names Türkiye and Greece
be stated that the naval forces of Russia openly for the first time here, and in fact, we
and China in this region are insufficient to can see that the problems we are experiencing
protect it from the sea. in the Aegean right now when this scenario is
The US bases around Türkiye. (Aydınlık, 2022Aydınlık (2022). The source article does not provide a separate full bibliographic entry for this citation.)
read in detail, are within those assumptions. In with ships off Cyprus. While doing all this, the
other words, we can say that the current situation economic situation in Türkiye is expected to make
for the USA is deliberate rather than the current Türkiye unmanageable with turmoil by scratching
geopolitical or global circumstances that have the polarizations in civil society and causing a
arisen spontaneously. civil war in Türkiye by using all the actors in
Considering that this is a book written with its hands, especially the PKK, in the south. It
the foreword of the Naval War College and the supports an idea that we call the Megali Idea in
Commander of the Naval Forces, we can say that Greece, ensuring that Greece has a certain line.
the strategic plan of the USA is reflected here. In All of these have been revealed in the scenario we
the scenario, the tension between Türkiye and are discussing.
Greece gradually rises. Eventually, Türkiye sinks Greece has been arming the islands for 40
one of the Greek ships, and the USA intervenes years. So far, I think we haven’t reacted as we
in Türkiye based on its Defence Cooperation could because of our relationship with NATO and
Agreement with Greece. It intervenes not only the idea that relations in the process of joining
in the Aegean but also in Cyprus and attacks the European Union should not be strained or
Türkiye’s military units with long-range missiles stopped. As you know, Türkiye needs a vote from
Greece in order to enter the European Union. Cypriot Administration and act together with
Greece also takes advantage of this. In this sense, Russia to formulate regional policies. Some say,
the USA made a mistake by including Türkiye and "Can we act against NATO?" It is not in NATO’s
Greece in NATO at the same time. However, this history how any force against NATO or behavior
mistake was not made regarding the European contrary to NATO agreements was dealt with. If
Union, and even the Greek Cypriot part was necessary, Türkiye can leave its military wing and
admitted to the EU, bringing the problems maintain its presence in its political wing. Because
between Southern Cyprus, Greece, and Türkiye if it leaves its political wing, the first country to join
to an unsolvable point. As it provides a wall for NATO will be the Greek Cypriot Administration,
immigrants, as Frontex suggests, Greece is more and then Israel. Thus, America will complete its
reliable for the EU than Türkiye. siege by including NATO. As a soldier, I have been
expressing for years that Türkiye should leave the military wing, but I think it should stay on the political wing as much as possible. There should be cooperation with Russia. The US’s goal is to create a Partnership with Russia and China in
fault line between Russia and Türkiye Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean
and to cut off Türkiye’s connection
with Russia over the Black Sea. There should be cooperation with Russia. The
US’s goal is to create a fault line between Rus-
Moreover, it is bound by the financial sia and Türkiye and to cut off Türkiye’s conne-
resources from Germany and the EU when it is ction with Russia over the Black Sea. The same
in trouble. The method of sending immigrants to is done in the Caucasus. The US is trying to
the borders, which Türkiye did two or three years undermine Türkiye-Russia relations through
ago, seriously worried the European countries. Armenia. Türkiye, Russia and China are also
I think this is one of the biggest reasons why affected by the same process. I think Türki-
relationships get strained. That’s why, in the ye should put all its weight on Cyprus here.
tension between Türkiye and Greece, you know The Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus are
that the EU univocally expressed its support the soft underbelly of Greece. Since America
for Greece. Therefore, Greece may lose these knew this, it thought and lifted the embargo
islands within a few days if a real war occurs in on the Greek Cypriot Administration. Becau-
the islands, including Chios, Lesbos, and Samos. se if we consider our military power there, our
Since Greece knew this, it made a provocative ability to intervene quickly and at a distance of
move by expressing that the armored vehicles 70 kilometers from Türkiye and the practice
given by the USA were deployed to some islands of an event that took place in 1974, Türkiye
recently. In addition, the world’s 4th largest air is more advantageous. The Aegean Sea is an
base, established in Bulgaria, is also noteworthy. area where Greece gathers power under the
At this point, Türkiye should take advantage influence of the USA. Unless the US inter-
of Russia’s blacklisting of Greece and the Greek venes, Greece cannot be a threat whatsoever.
The Turkish Armed Forces may also suffer see where it fell after being shot. They even hit
some damage against Greece, but Greece has Russia’s cruiser with shore-fired missiles. The
no chance of success in the Aegean. 6th and 7th fleets of the USA do not pose a
Considering the current situation, taking great danger in this context. We can say that
action against Türkiye is difficult, but Cyprus today’s systems create a weakness for the navy.
is not like that. In Cyprus, there is a ceasefire, For this reason, the use of unmanned sea ve-
and as in Armenia, the ceasefire could bre- hicles in the navy is increasing. Türkiye is also
ak at any time. Therefore, in a planned pro- advantageous in this respect.
cess where the Turkish Army stands strong, I Türkiye should cut its relations with the
think that Türkiye should take initiatives for EU and NATO in this context. They already
the recognition of Cyprus independence with have many practices, such as keeping Turkish
the support of China and Russia, and if this is trucks waiting and not giving visas. NATO
not possible, the TRNC should take a decision will somehow remove Türkiye from NATO.
to join Türkiye with a referendum as Russia Today they say, "We signed the Washington
did in Donetsk and Luhansk. The USA never agreement; no one can remove us from NATO
intends to give Cyprus to Türkiye. It neither if we don’t want to". No one implements in-
consents to a federation nor a two-state struc- ternational agreements. Why did the USA not
ture. Due to the increasing importance of Cy- implement the Minsk agreement against Rus-
prus, the USA wants Cyprus to be under the sia? Why did they not intervene and allow the
control of the Greek Cypriot Administration war to happen despite the three UN Security
and, therefore, Greece. Because the way of the Council resolutions between Armenia and
siege and the US domination of the Eastern Azerbaijan? For the Washington agreement,
Mediterranean passes through Cyprus, whi- they will say, "Yesterday is yesterday, today
ch is like an unsinkable aircraft carrier. Let’s is today." Whom will you complain to? The
not forget that the British have military bases era of international agreements in the world
in Agratur and Dhekelia, which the USA can is over. Nobody follows the rules. If they had
use. And, of course, Türkiye should also coo- been followed, Israel would have come under
perate with Syria and China. Here, measures the control of the UN today. There are about
must be taken to seize the presence of Ameri- 20–25 Security Council and United Nations
ca in the region. This siege needs to be broken, resolutions on Palestine and the occupation
and the US presence in Iraq should be stopped of the Arabs. There are critical theories and so
by including Iraq and Iran in cooperation. on in international relations, but today I be-
The size of the carriers no longer matters. lieve that all these problems can be solved in
The US has 11 large carriers, but carriers have more realistic ways, namely by force. For this,
become vulnerable with current missile sys- close regional cooperation is needed. This is
tems. For example, a Russian missile called exactly what Türkiye should do. In this con-
Sarmat can reach 6 thousand kilometers in a text, I consider the development of relations
very short time. It can go at a speed of about with Shanghai Cooperation Organization a
Mach 20 (Mach 1=1235~km/h), and you can very positive move.