The presidents of Russia and Turkey vowed to open a new period of close relations as they rebuild ties between their countries after a almost seven-month rupture over Ankara’s shooting down of a Russian warplane previous year.
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The ban on agricultural imports from Turkey, a major blow to Turkish farmers, may be lifted by the end of the year as Russian Federation ensures products are in compliance with its regulations, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told reporters after the two presidents met.
Erdogan insisted in an interview with Russian media ahead of the talks that Assad must still go – a position opposed by Putin – but said that the conflict could now become the focus for renewed cooperation between the two sides.
“A democratic transformation can only be reached through democratic means”, said Putin, who has turned the war in Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s favor since deploying Russian planes to support government forces.
Previously close ties between Moscow and Ankara broke down after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian warplane at the Syrian border, an incident that Putin had described as a “treacherous stab in the back”.
For more on the relationship between Russian and Turkey and the meeting of the country’s presidents, CCTV America’s Asieh Namdar interviewed Saruhan Hatipoglu, CEO of BERI and CCTV Global Economics Analyst.
Putin and Erdogan also said the two countries would proceed with the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, an alternative to South Stream. Turkey has demanded the US extradite Islamic leader Fethullah Gulen, now living in Pennsylvania, whom the Turks say is responsible for the failed coup. Gulen has repeatedly denied any involvement.
The dispute has strained US-Turkish ties, with some Turkish officials implying the US could have been behind the coup.
While ties with Russian Federation can’t substitute Turkey’s economic and security cooperation with the USA and the European Union and its membership in NATO, Erdogan clearly hopes to use the Russian Federation card to strengthen his hand in disputes with his Western partners.
It is believed that Russia had alerted Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization about the military coup beforehand after Russian army had intercepted sensitive exchanges and encoded radio messages of the Turkish army from which it learnt of the coup attempt against the President in Ankara.
Approximately 13,000 members of the military, police, and judiciary as well as civil servants have been detained and 6,000 remanded in custody since the failed putsch, and tens of thousands of suspected Gulenists removed from their posts.
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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are exclusively those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT. Ankara has accused the West of failing to show due support for a democratically elected government.
