Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talk during their meeting in the Konstantin palace outside St.Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. Key among the plans is a gas pipeline that would connect the two countries, and a nuclear power plant that Russian Federation is to build in Turkey.
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The extraordinary statement, and the perceived need to issue it, highlighted the West’s growing nervousness over the fallout from last month’s coup attempt.
On the Syria conflict Mr Putin acknowledged big differences with Mr Erdogan, but said “we will look for solutions”.
Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Ankara’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership – which dates back to 1952 – was not “mutually exclusive” with relationships with other countries like China and Russian Federation.
Moscow and Ankara largely disagree on Syria, as Turkey wants Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to be ousted, while Russian Federation supports him and the Syrian army in their fight against the Islamic State militant group.
Kalin insisted Turkey’s position on Assad had not changed despite the reconciliation with Russia: “We still want him to go”.
“As regards Turkish Stream, our colleagues from Ankara continued work [on the project] even in a period of a crisis in relations”, Russian business daily RBC quotes Putin as saying.
Speaking after the talks with Putin, Erdogan reiterated his contention that Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric in self-imposed exile in the United States, was behind the failed insurrection and alleged that the coup plotters were also responsible for the crisis in relations with Russian Federation.
An official in Erdogan’s office said there was a clear consensus about improving relations that were damaged when Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border late past year.
The two leaders were set to hold further discussions with top military and intelligence officials to find common ground on the West’s proxy war on Syria, in which the two countries are on opposing sides.
It is also pertinent to be mentioned here that US Secretary of State John Kerry is also expected to visit Turkey in the coming weeks to discuss the crucial issues which also includes the Turkish demand for Gulen’s extradition.
Erdogan blames Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who lives in self-imposed exile in the USA state of Pennsylvania, and his followers for the failed coup.
Erdogan told Russian media that he wants to “immediately take steps” towards getting the TurkStream project started again and to finish the Akkuyu power plant. Gulen has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Ankara has repeatedly said the coup attempt had been organized by followers of USA -based preacher Fetullah Gulen and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
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Putin: “I know that I was among the first ones to call you and to express my support in coping with the political crisis related to the coup attempt”.
