A visit to Russia by the deputy chair of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in March found little coverage in the Turkish media. This week, however, it changed when the remarks of professor Ilyas Topsakal made their way into Turkish-language outlets. Topsakal apparently held meetings in Moscow to follow up on MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli’s call last September for a stronger Turkish-Russia-China alliance.
Bahçeli is an influential politician who made radical moves in recent years to change the course of Türkiye for the better, shifting his party’s traditional policies. Most striking among them is the terror-free Türkiye initiative for disarmament of the PKK, a terrorist group which the MHP viewed, for years, only as an entity that should be eliminated through military means. Bahçeli has defended his change of mind as part of cementing Türkiye’s unity in the face of growing external threats. His call for an alliance with Russia and China actually corresponds to the same concerns.
The MHP leader advocated for a Turkish-Russia-China alliance in a statement on Sept. 18, 2025, “against the evil coalition of the United States and Israel,” months before said countries launched a joint attack against Iran. Bahçeli reasoned that the most suitable option for the “strategic environment of the new century” was the “TRC” alliance. He did not elaborate much, but it is no secret that Türkiye has been open to new alliances in the past two decades as it sought to raise its profile in the international community and yearned for improving relations with more countries than traditional allies in the West.
Türkiye maintains good ties with both Russia and China, especially on an economic level. On the political side, though Türkiye is a NATO ally, it favored a peace diplomacy to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict, against a more antagonistic approach by the military bloc to Moscow. Türkiye is also a dialogue partner with China and Russia in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). Topsakal, quoted by Russian newspaper Vedomosti, said Türkiye needed closer ties with the SCO, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). All are emerging Eurasian blocs at a time of power shifts in the world and a new order where the United States pursues a more proactive foreign policy under President Donald Trump. Türkiye is already a founder of OTS, mostly comprised of independent states founded after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Though they remain in good terms with Russia mostly, they are also open to partnerships with the West. Similarly, Türkiye is ambitious to maintain a balanced foreign policy with a win-win approach. Recently, it appears to court the West, or rather, NATO, but it has also been a staunch opponent of Israel, the primary ally of NATO’s founding partner, the U.S..
Nevertheless, Türkiye adheres to a policy oriented on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s motto, the “world is bigger than five” (in reference to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council deciding on the fate of international affairs). In this framework, it seeks reforms in the Western-based order, unable to respond properly to international crises, namely the Palestine-Israel conflict.
In the Global South, Türkiye is engaged with BRICS, which represents more than half of the global economy and population. Apart from separate partnerships with member countries from Brazil to Egypt, Türkiye is a dialogue partner with the bloc.
It remains to be seen how much the government will align with the MHP’s proposal for a China-Russia alliance, as it also means risking alienating current foes of both countries, from Ukraine to Europe and the U.S. A rebalancing of relations with the said countries and blocs might be needed, without fully distancing them from Ankara’s diplomatic strategy of mutual wins.
Government officials did not comment on the MHP’s alliance search. President Erdoğan has remarked he wished it the best when a journalist asked him about the proposal, shortly after Bahçeli’s statements. Yet this was more or less all from Erdoğan or the government. Russian Embassy charge d’affaires in Ankara Alexei Ivanov was quoted by Russian media in February as saying that Bahçeli’s proposal was “interesting and logical.” Ivanov underlined that three countries were key actors in “a multipolar world.”
On Saturday, Topsakal detailed the purpose of his visit in an interview with broadcaster TV100. He said that the MHP leader tasked them with developing a better understanding of Russia and China.
“There is a serious strategic gap on this matter. Türkiye (co-founded) the OTS, and what we call the Turkic world is between Russia and China. We have to think about balances in the face of a major economy and a country with significant power in security. Our ambition is to create a 'Turkic Belt.' The 'Turkic Belt,' for success, needs to develop good ties with Russia. As for China, we have lessons to learn from China’s economy,” he said.
“We have to consider the international alignment of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and others, which can have a gateway to the world through Türkiye. Without Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran and India, the Middle Corridor cannot function. We have to be realistic,” he said.
Topsakal stressed that every country has its own regional concepts and that Türkiye has its own national strategy. “Russia is closer than ever to Türkiye as they face their own challenges, such as the embargo. Actually, all their relations with the West and the European Union are through Türkiye. During the conflict, Türkiye served as an intermediary. For Russia, Türkiye is important, an important trade partner,” he underlined.
