Turkey realizes the importance of the Istanbul Canal project after the Suez Canal incident

The Suez Canal incident was a pretext for the Turkish government to think of ambitious plans that could impede an important part of the operation of the canal and create a new international route for trade between Europe and Asia.

Perhaps if what happened was a movie to stop the Suez Canal, it would have been considered a fictitious event, but in reality it Happened and the Suez Canal stopped working.

A state of shock, which was dominated by the severe anxiety of the Egyptian government and many countries of the world for several days and nights.

The closure of the Suez Canal prompted some Turkish officials and political analysts to believe the necessity of finding an alternative road linking Europe with Asia, whose main interests go to Ankara.

In fact, the Suez Canal incident gave hope to the Turkish government to think more about the new Istanbul Canal project, which could neutralize an important part of the Suez Canal operation and create a new international route for trade between Europe and Asia.

According to Anatolia News Agency, Sefa Çatal, an international economic security expert, said, “Turkey should strive to restore the remaining capacity on the Silk Road and turn the routes of China, Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the Middle East into a dynamic route for trade and transit.”

The recent Suez Canal crisis created a long queue for 360 large cargo ships with a length of 65 kilometers combined waiting for departure and transit, which delayed the delivery of goods and corrupted some shipments, which led to damages amounting to 4 billion dollars.

Every year, more than 19,000 ships pass through this canal, and Egypt earns about $ 6 billion annually from this 195-kilometer route.

What is Turkey looking for?

Just one day after the signing of the final agreement between Russia, Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, Turkey announced that it was searching for a new transit route between Agadir, Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, within one month, two freight trains were delivered from Istanbul via Georgia, and after crossing the Caspian Sea, The Turkish shipments were delivered to China.

On the other hand, a new railway contract was signed with Iran for export to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In talks with the Baghdad government, Turkey called for a new border road between Iraq and Turkey so that Turkish merchants would not have to transfer their goods across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan to the southern provinces of the country.

In other words, Turkey is fully aware of the importance of transit and the use of railways and wants to use this tool as a sustainable source of economic benefits.

Commenting on the current state of transit of goods between Asia and Europe, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu said:

“What happened in the Suez Canal reminded everyone that both the northern and southern crossings had problems.

But if we take into account an intermediate passage that carries goods without using the Red Sea, Suez and Mediterranean routes, then we conclude that in the alternative route (ie, in the middle lane) the goods will arrive at the destination 15 days before the sea route.

15 days is a great feature to accelerate the dynamic trade of countries”.

One of the important objectives of the Turkish government, which was briefly mentioned by the Minister of Transport, is the issue of new uses of the Black Sea Road, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.

This means that the dream project, known as “Istanbul Canal”, will create an open and easy way to connect the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Aegean Sea.

The Istanbul canal will play an important role in the field of transit and trade from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and Europe.

But the truth is that the construction of this channel has many critics from environmentalists who believe that this controversial project will severely affect Istanbul’s habitat for humans, organisms and plants, and will create new environmental risks.

There is also a group of critics who believe that the legal dimension of this issue is complex and that the legal system of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas will be affected and that new problems will arise for Turkey.

Russia proposes the way to ice

According to a detailed report in Aidenlek, Russia has also suggested the “Arctic Ocean” line as a viable alternative.

Of course, with the difference that Russian transport companies will use gigantic special ships to break ice on this route.

“The recent accident in the Suez Canal reminded us once again of the importance of the Arctic Ocean Road, and the global economy should think of alternative routes to the Suez Canal,” said Vladimir Banov, Senior Director of Russia’s Rosatom Nuclear Agency.

The newspaper is an organ of the National Communist Party, an anti-American party in favor of China and Russia, with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and Russian political figures.

The party believes that the Arctic Ocean Road, as a road under Russian rule and control, could generate high commercial benefits for Turkey.

“The Arctic Ocean route is an unknown and undiscovered route for Turkish sailors”.

“But Turkey will sooner or later have to join the forty-five countries that signed the Treaty on the Right of Navigation on this road, and it must plan to work in the Arctic,” the report added.

Finally, in recent years, especially after the strengthening of Turkish-Russian relations, Turkey has advanced in the Caucasus and Central Asia and the idea of ​​using more cargo transit in the Great East-West Corridor.

Development has become more important, and Erdogan’s team seeks to double the capabilities in the economic relations of Turkey, Russia, China, the Caucasus countries and Eurasia, to become a major transit force for goods between Europe and Asia.