Calling Putin his “dear friend”, Erdogan said after the meeting in St. Petersburg that Turkey is ready to implement a natural gas pipeline project with Russian Federation and a deal to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.
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Erdogan told Russian media that he wants to “immediately take steps” towards getting the TurkStream project – that was to have pumped 31.5 billion cubic metres of gas a year – going again and to finish the Akkuyu power plant.
Erdogan, who was visiting Russian Federation on Tuesday, has criticized the United States and the European Union for showing what he says is a lack of solidarity with Turkey over the coup and of caring more for the rights of people he views as traitors. Indeed, Erdogan has scheduled a trip to Tehran and a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani a few days after his talks with Putin.
Erdogan said Turkey was entering a “very different period” in its relations with Russian Federation, and that solidarity between the two countries would help the resolution of regional problems.
On his part, the Turkish leader said he hoped the ties between Moscow and Ankara entered a new positive phase, which can help enhance cooperation between the two countries.
Russian Federation has accepted Ankara’s expressions of regret over the downing of the warplane in the apparent hope of reconciliation while also reviving the relationship.
The 75-year-old Gulen, who built up a network of schools, charities and businesses in Turkey and overseas over decades, denies any involvement in the coup and has condemned it.
The one-day meeting in St. Petersburg also marked Erdogan’s first foreign visit since the July 15 failed military coup attempt against him in Turkey, which has strained relations between Turkey and the US.
The Israeli détente with Ankara in recent months hinged on Turkey’s continuing to maintain its close military and intelligence ties with the United States and its integration in an anti-Iran Sunni alliance in partnership with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Western governments and human rights groups have condemned the coup attempt, in which at least 246 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured, and also expressed concern over the extent of the crackdown tightening Mr Erdogan’s grip on power. A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman in fact welcomed the end of tensions between the two countries.
Some commentators have speculated that Moscow is also keen to take advantage of this cooling of relations between Ankara and the West. Turkey said the jet had crossed into Turkish territory and that Moscow had been repeatedly warned over previous airspace violations.
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By contrast, he said, Turkey’s relationship with Russian Federation was “an alliance of convenience, not a strategic relationship”. Ties between the two nations can at best be described as a marriage of convenience. “Since Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet last fall, boycotts, sanctions and travel bans have cut deeply into the Turkish economy”.
