Russia and Turkey took a big step toward normalising ties yesterday when Russian President Vladimir Putin met his visiting Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, at a time when both countries have strained relations with the West.
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Putin said restoring the visa-free regime for Turkish passport holders would be discussed at a later date while Erdogan stated that the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project would go ahead.
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.
The two leaders also raised the prospect of cooperation between Moscow and Ankara on the Syrian civil war despite them backing opposing sides.
In addition to the plane incident, the two countries back opposing sides in Syria’s nearly five-year civil war, with Russian Federation the key supporter of the Damascus regime while Turkey argues that the ouster of Assad is essential to solving the Syrian crisis.
Erdoğan said a Turkish-Russian partnership is very important not only for economical relations, but also regional and global stability.
Both projects were announced years earlier but were held back by commercial disputes even before Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet at the Syrian border last November.
The minister noted that a thaw in relations between Moscow and Ankara “has been observed since Erdogan sent a letter to Vladimir Putin”.
Relations between Turkey and Russian Federation – two powers vying for influence in the strategic Black Sea region and Middle East – have always been complicated.
With its tense relations with United States and the European Union, and the bad economic situation following Russian sanctions, Ankara had to mend its relationship with Moscow, says Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak from Tel Aviv University.
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. Gulen denies the claims.
Russian Federation is aware of Bulgaria’s readiness to renew the South Stream gas pipeline project, but EU’s rock-solid guarantees are needed for that, says Vladimir Putin.
The meeting comes amid growing strains in Ankara’s ties with the West after a failed military coup in Turkey in which 230 people were killed.
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“We intend to gradually cancel the special economic measures limiting Turkish companies’ activities in Russian market”, Putin said.
