Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday after talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that the two nations can rebuild their damaged ties and make them even closer, promising to back major energy projects with Russian Federation.
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Although their meeting in St. Petersburg on Tuesday produced little beyond vows of friendship and cooperation, the symbolism of the two former antagonists coming together for a friendly talk was enough to raise alarms in Western capitals.
According to the spokesperson, Turkey can count on solidarity and support of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Washington and Ankara, long at odds over American support of the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, have had a series of problems lately.
European nations and human rights groups have expressed alarm over the scope of Turkey’s crackdown, triggering anger from Turkish officials who have complained of a lack of support for Turkey over the failed coup.
And demands by Turkish leaders for the extradition of a cleric living in Pennsylvania have met with resistance in the USA government, where officials say they see no proof that the man, Fethullah Gulen, 75, bore any responsibility for the coup attempt as Turkey alleges.
No one predicted a radical shift in relations, at least not immediately.
Turkey is building a “strong mechanism” with Russian Federation to try to find a solution in Syria and a delegation including foreign ministry, military and intelligence officials will go to Russian Federation on Wednesday for talks, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.
After the jet was shot down, Mr. Putin called Mr. Erdogan a back-stabber and demanded an apology, which was refused.
Russia imposed a ban on agricultural imports from Turkey following the incident, as well as a ban on charter flights between the countries, which reduced the flow of Russian tourists into Turkey to a trickle, hurting a sector also suffering the impact of a string of terror attacks across the country. Although Russian gas sales to Turkey continued, the countries’ $30 billion in annual trade decreased by 43 percent, Mr. Putin said.
Cavusoglu said the first bilateral meeting of this mechanism will be held in St. Petersburg on Thursday, Xinhua News Agency cited from Anadolu News Agency. Turkey takes full part in the Alliance’s consensus-based decisions as we confront the biggest security challenges in a generation.
Outside observers noted that the abortive putsch marked a rapid turning point in the relations between the two countries, though signs of a rapprochement had been evident the month before, when Erdogan apologized for the downing of the plane. With that done, steps could begin toward a normalization of relations.
Turkey’s president cozied up to his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a visit meant to send a message to his allies in the West, whom he blames for what he considers a lack of support after a failed coup. Erdogan said that the plan would now be re-classified as a “strategic project”, paving the way for more concrete completion dates.
“Turkey needed to restore economic and trade ties to Russian Federation”.
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Russian Federation is one of Turkey’s most important export markets, and a key supplier of energy.
