Turkish President Recep Tayip Ergodan on Tuesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin to give a fresh start to the bilateral relations of the two countries which nosedived after Turkish military downed a Russian fighter jet last November.
Advertisement
Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in an attempt to restore stronger ties after relations with the West were strained by Turkey’s post-coup crackdown.
Mr Putin, in his turn, said that the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey – halted after the downing of a Russian jet by Turkey in November – will resume.
Putin snubs an offer from Erdogan to meet during climate talks in Paris after refusing to take his calls, and cancels a summit in December.
In the latest sign of rocky relations with the West, Turkey’s justice minister on Tuesday warned that the United States will “sacrifice relations” unless it extradites Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for the failed coup.
Nonetheless, Erdogan told reporters that “Russia is a main, key and very important player in establishing peace in Syria”, adding, “the problem needs to be solved with help of joint steps between Russian Federation and Turkey”.
The St. Petersburg visit is Erdogan’s first foreign trip since he saw off the failed challenge to his rule, and comes at a rocky period in Turkey’s relationship with its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies in the West.
The feud was put to rest on July 17 – two days after Erdogan suppressed the attempted military coup against his rule.
The detente is likely to worry the USA and the European Union, who are dependent on Turkey’s cooperation over the Syrian crisis and in containing the flow of refugees to Europe.
The government has launched a sweeping crackdown targeting Gulen’s followers in the aftermath of the coup.
Bozdag added that anti-US sentiment in Turkey had reached new highs, and urged Washington to act before it deteriorated into hatred.
Some fear Turkey, who has taken on an antagonistic attitude toward the the United States and Europe, may have now moved closer to Moscow. The administration of President Barack Obama said that solid evidence of Gulen’s involvement with the coup must be provided for any extradition process to begin.
The mass dismissals have created gaps in state institutions and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday 25,000 new teachers and police officers would be employed after the purge.
Turkish security forces guard the Air Force Academy in Istanbul on July 18.
Authorities have arrested 16,000 people since the failed coup, according to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag.
Advertisement
Gulen strongly denies Ankara’s accusations and his lawyer on Friday said Turkey had failed to provide “a scintilla” of proof to support its claim. He has accused Erdogan of using the coup to amass greater power, echoing concerns expressed in some Western capitals.
