Putin, Erdogan move toward restoring Russia-Turkey ties
Relations had been damaged after Turkey shot down Russian warplane Meeting comes as both countries have strained ties with West
ST PETERSBURG/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia and Turkey moved toward restoring full trade and economic relations on Tuesday when Russian President Vladimir Putin met his visiting counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at a time when both countries have strained ties with the West.
Putin said he wanted a “full-specter restoration of relations,” which were damaged when NATO member Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border late last year.
“Life changes quickly,” Putin told a news conference after holding talks with Erdogan in St. Petersburg, adding that Russian sanctions imposed on Turkey over the plane downing could be lifted step-by-step.
Erdogan, whose strongman-style leadership is often likened to Putin’s, was equally upbeat: “Both sides are extremely determined and have the necessary will to take our relations back to where they were and even to improve them further.”
The meeting paves the way for a resumption of Turkish food imports to Russia; of Russian charter flights to Turkey; and raises the prospect of cooperation between Moscow and Ankara on the Syrian civil war despite them backing opposing sides.
Russia and Turkey have two of the biggest militaries in the world, and Erdogan’s trip is being closely watched in the West, where some officials fear his growing detente with Moscow could affect Ankara’s links with NATO.
The Turkish president’s visit to Russia is his first foreign trip since a failed military coup in Turkey last month, in which more than 240 people were killed.
Ties with the West have been strained in the aftermath of the coup. Turkey has been incensed not by the concerns expressed by Washington and European capitals about Ankara’s subsequent crackdown on suspected plotters, but what it sees as indifference toward the coup attempt itself.
As Ankara sealed its rapprochement with Russia, at home it warned of rising anti-American sentiment and of risks to a migrant deal with the European Union, in remarks that underlined how bad its ties with the West are.
The Russian president said a restoration of ties with Turkey would increase stability “in the whole world” as the leaders met in a Tsarist-era palace just outside Putin’s home city of St. Petersburg.
Putin stressed his backing for Erdogan’s handling of the attempted coup, noting he had been one of the first world leaders to phone him and offer his support. He said he hoped Ankara could fully restore order in Turkey.
“I want to again say that it’s our principled position that we are always categorically against any attempts at unconstitutional actions,” he said. “I want to express the hope that, under your leadership, the Turkish people will cope with this problem [the coup’s aftermath] and that order and constitutional legality will be restored.”
Putin said the two men later on Tuesday would discuss Syria, a conflict where the two countries find themselves on opposing sides, with Moscow backing President Bashar Assad and Ankara wanting him out of power.
Progress there could be a tough ask given the complexities of the conflict and their different loyalties, but repairing business ties promises to be easier.
“As a result of the talks we held today, we have taken steps to take our relations with Russia to where they should be politically, economically and culturally,” said Erdogan, who indicated that they had agreed to set up a joint Russian-Turkish investment fund and increase cooperation on defense.
Stalled Russian work on the Akkuyu nuclear power plant was set to be restarted, too, he said.
The two leaders said they also had agreed to revive a gas pipeline project, known as TurkStream, which is meant to be supplying Ankara with additional volumes of Russian gas and to increase deliveries to the European Union in the future.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier played down Western concerns, telling the Bild daily he was not worried about Turkey and Russia improving ties.
“It is good that after the shooting down of the Russian fighter jet by Turkey last year, there is a rapprochement,” he said. “At the same time, I do not believe that relations between the two countries will become so close that Russia can offer Turkey an alternative to the NATO security partnership.”