Despite Russia’s increasing clout and assertiveness in its region, Turkey
has chosen to improve its relations with Russia, rather than balance
against it through its Western allies. Turkey’s unexpected strategic
partnership with Russia is best seen as an example of bandwagoning
for profit. It is an assertive bandwagoning with the objective of counter-
ing Kurdish separatism, an imminent problem in the Turkish ruling
elite’s ranking of threat perceptions. The empowerment of Syrian
Kurdish groups under the protection of the United States has moved
Turkey closer to Russia. A long-term alliance between the two, how-
ever, depends on reconciliation of their differences which are deeply
rooted in historical and geo-political factors