Stalin running in Europe again

Nowadays, Western leaders and politicians are lining up for visits to Azerbaijan. It was announced that French President François Hollande will visit Azerbaijan soon and France's Baku Ambassador Pascal Meunier stated that Hollande's visit to Azerbaijan is of the utmost importance. The ambassador declared that the main purpose of the visit is to support the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and contribute to the region in determining its destiny independently of "external factors." Apart from that, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will be in Azerbaijan in the coming days.

In addition, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in Azerbaijan last week. Turkey and Azerbaijan are developing a new economic and policy relationship, starting with energy issues in the area of the Caspian Sea and the Middle East. Erdoğan's visit brought about cooperation in two significant areas. One was undoubtedly the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline project (TANAP) and Azerbaijani energy company SOCAR's investment strategy in Turkey. The other was about cooperation to be developed in the defense industry.

We know that Azerbaijan is striving to gradually distance itself from Russia's influence and transfer Caspian energy sources to Europe by opening the southern energy corridor.

Russia wants to broaden the customs union which it began with Kazakhstan and Belarus in 2010 so as to include the former Soviet Republics. Hence, integration starting with the economy - primarily energy - will head toward a new Eurasian political union controlled by Russia. Putin's short-term strategy is not to lose control of the gates of Georgia and Ukraine opening to the West. The medium- and long-term strategy is to establish a new Russian Eurasia through energy and trade unions in the former Soviet Republics.

One of the biggest obstacles to this strategy is Turkey, which is gaining regional strength to link Caspian, Iraqi, Mediterranean and even Iranian energy sources to Europe through the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC). Turkey is not only the unique alternative for the West against Russia in terms of energy conveyance, but also the only country to enable central and southern commercial transfers starting from the Pacific with the potential to be the backbone of the upcoming Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Putin made a statement after the Crimean referendum alleging that Crimea is historically part of Russia and referred to the nations' policy of the Soviet Union. Putin stated that Crimea was assigned to Ukraine, a former member of the Soviet Union, within this legal framework. He remarked that Russia has the right to intervene in Crimea if Ukraine gets out of its control. The nations' policy on the Soviet Union and the corresponding Russian Union was shaped by the imperial oppressive policies of Stalin. This oppressive Russian Union policy created by Stalin step-by-step after the death of Lenin in 1924 is supported by Putin today and is intended to be actualized.

After 1924, Stalin maintained this policy by purging the Communist Party and relying on the party bureaucracy and civil/military officers tied blindly to this policy. The Western world was not able to stand up to this policy due to rising fascism in Europe and Nazi Germany's rogue attacks. Moreover, the Western world had supported Stalin against fascism. Presently, Putin does not have as strong a civil and military bureaucracy behind him as Stalin had, but he is supported by the oligarch bourgeoisie who have been plundering the remains of the Soviet Union since its collapse. This bourgeoisie support Putin's expansionary and tyrannical policies so as not to lose the positions they acquired from energy trading and the plunder of public resources.

In this respect, it is obvious that Putin's expansionary policy takes its roots from material reasons and is as dangerous as Stalin's expansionary and annexation strategies that reigned over Soviets after Lenin. I do not know whether Western world leaders are aware of this or not, however, they are in the queue to visit Azerbaijan which means they intuit bad things. One should know that Azerbaijan's energy sources do not mean anything without Turkey's support. Moreover, new trade routes starting from the Pacific and reaching Europe and beyond via Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia are worthless without Turkey's cooperation.

The south transit trade route reaching the Western world and passing through Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and the Mediterranean will also fail without Turkey's participation. Apart from that, Israel's plans to convey its energy sources to Europe will fail if it does not cooperate with Turkey.

Russia's new expansionary policy which it inherited from Stalin was not considered by the Western world until Russia annexed Crimea. However, they evaluate Turkey's foreign policy as "neo-Ottoman" and expansionist.

Some Western leaders denigrate Turkey's foreign policy, which aims to secure the south energy route and marketing facilities, and they accuse Turkey of supporting terrorism in Syria while it endeavors to establish a peaceful environment for trade and transportation.

Now everything has come to light. Russia and Iran made great efforts to rebut Turkey's struggle for establishing peace in Syria and now Turkey is facing absurd allegations which are put into words by the Russian intelligence saying that Turkey led the chemical weapons attack in Syria. Those who claim such absolute nonsense allegations are the ones with Syrian blood on their hands.

The Western world should understand Turkey's policy, which became clearer with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Western world does not have any option but to support Erdoğan to preventing Stalin's resurrection.