North Atlantic Treaty Organisation went out of its way Wednesday to insist that Turkey – whose president this week visited Moscow and promised a new level of cooperation with the man he repeatedly called his “dear friend”, Russian President Vladimir Putin – remains a “valued ally” whose alliance membership “is not in question”.
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An official in Erdogan’s office said there was a clear consensus about improving relations that were damaged when Turkey shot down a Russian war plane near the Syrian border late previous year.
The downing of the plane over the Syrian border last November shattered ties between the two nations and saw Moscow slap an embargo on Turkish food products and ban charter flights and the sale of package tours to the country.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Konstantin palace outside St.Petersburg, Russia, on August 9.
Putin said he and Erdogan would have a separate discussion on Syria later Tuesday involving top diplomats and intelligence officials.
Russian Federation is flying a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey is fiercely opposed to the Syrian leader. On June 30, Russian Federation lifted a ban on tourist flights to Turkey following a phone conversation between the pair.
“Russia and Turkey are important strategic partners for Kazakhstan”.
Ankara has repeatedly said the coup attempt had been organized by followers of USA -based preacher Fetullah Gulen and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Turkish National Intelligence Organisation Chief Hakan Fidan and representatives from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry and the Turkish Armed Forces will depart for Russian Federation on Wednesday, Cavusoglu said.
Another expert, Amur Gadjiev, a research fellow at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that the strained bilateral ties have already dealt a serious blow to Turkey, particularly to its economy.
Relations between Nato-member Turkey and Russia reached their nadir last November when a Turkish fighter shot down a Russian strike jet over northern Syria in a clearly planned ambush.
Putin, prior to meeting with Erdogan Tuesday, said the visit “means that all us want the dialogue to be resumed and ties to be restored in the interests of the people of Turkey and Russian Federation”. However, the announcement by Erdogan that Turkey and Russian Federation intend to cooperate in the defence industry and military production is destined, more than anything else, to keep the United States and European Union in suspense.
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In contrast, Mr Erdogan praised Mr Putin for offering his support after the coup and said that “we are strongly determined to take our relations to the pre-crisis and even higher level”.
