The Turkish president flew to St. Petersburg to talk with Putin, his first trip since the attempted coup against him last month.
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Russian Federation and Turkey have started a new stage in their relationships.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday he was glad when Russian leader Vladimir Putin called him after the coup attempt in the republic in July.
The coup attempt took place while Erdogan was on a family holiday in southern Turkey and saw both the parliament and the area around the presidential palace bombed from the air.
“We have a lot of issues on the agenda concerning bilateral relations and their development”, he said.
Putin has also sought to mend the rift with Turkey in the hopes of reviving key economic projects, including the much-touted pipeline, and expanding Russia’s clout in Syria.
It also has some in the West concerned that Erdogan’s choice of Russian Federation is symbolic; they’re anxious that it’s meant to launch a new era in Turkish foreign policy – one in which the goal of being accepted as a member of the European Union, a ‘Western state, ‘ has been roundly discarded by the Turkish authorities. Turkey has attacked Western leaders for their lukewarm condemnations of the coup, while they have expressed concern about repressions that have followed, including thousands of arrests.
“After the press conference, we shall have an opportunity to speak to the heads of large companies from both Russian Federation and Turkey”.
Russian Federation slapped a raft of sanctions on Turkey in the wake of the deadly jet incident, hurting Turkish exports and damaging its tourism industry.
Turkey’s justice minister said Tuesday the United States would be sacrificing its alliance with Turkey to “a terrorist” if it were to refuse to extradite a US -based Muslim cleric who the government says is behind the July 15 failed coup.
“I want to again say that it’s our principled position that we are always categorically against any attempts at unconstitutional actions”, he said.
“This was not handled well by either the United States or Europe”, said James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey.
“We also will discuss the possibility of lifting economic measures imposed on each other”, Putin said.
Russian Federation is flying a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey says that the Syrian leader must leave power.
“We have experienced many challenges in our relations recently, but we should restore our relations on pre-crisis level for citizens’ sake”, President Putin said in conclusion.
At the time, Putin personally attacked Erdogan and the Turkish government, labeling them as “sponsors of terrorism” and suggesting they supported ISIS.
“Putin has an interest in buttering up a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member which is practically now at odds with the the EU”, Hanson said. “Relations between Russian Federation and Turkey can now be restored on the level we had before crisis”.
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Hakura said the deal could collapse, but Europe is better equipped to deal with the migrant challenge if it does, and was more likely to adopt a tougher line in their negotiations with Erdogan.
