Turkey and Qatar Strengthen Economic Relations After Russia Tension

On Dec. 1, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani signed a series of agreements in various fields from energy to defense. These agreements will play a crucial role in Turkey's response to the vitriolic statements made by Russian authorities following Turkey downing a Russian military jet that had violate Turkish airspace despite being warned several times to exit it.

From the moment the Russian jet was shot down, Russia's threats have centered on economic sanctions on Turkey. Therefore, before moving on to explain the relationship between Turkey and Qatar, we will summarize the economic relationship between Russia and Turkey. In 2014, around $497.8 billion worth of goods were exported from Russia worldwide with the Netherlands, China, Germany, Italy and Turkey comprising the top-five importers of Russian exports. However, although Russia imported $308 billion U.S. of goods in 2014, Turkey was not among the top-five importers of Russian goods.

(Daily Sabah, by balkans.com)