The News
Thursday 28 of March 2024

Turkey's Erdoğan Sits Down with Russia's Putin for Talks


Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Konstantin palace outside St.Petersburg, Russia,photo: AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, welcomes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Konstantin palace outside St.Petersburg, Russia,photo: AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko
Putin said he was "glad" to be seeing Erdoğan again and praised his visit as Turkey's commitment to repair the soured ties

On his first foreign visit after Turkey’s failed coup, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for inviting him for talks Tuesday aimed at repairing ties shattered by Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane along the Syrian border last year.

The downing of the Russian jet in November, which Putin described as a “treacherous stab in the back,” came amid boiling tensions over Syria, where Moscow and Ankara back opposing sides in the war. Russia promptly cut ties with Turkey over the incident, banned Turkish vegetables, restricted Russian tourists’ access to Turkey and blocked some Turkish companies from working on the Russian market.

Erdoğan in June sent a letter to Putin with a long-anticipated apology for Turkey’s downing of the jet, setting the scene for the meeting Tuesday at Konstantin Palace in St. Petersburg.

Opening the talks, Putin said he was “glad” to be seeing Erdoğan again and praised his visit as Turkey’s commitment to repair the soured ties.

“Despite the very difficult domestic situation your visit means that all us want the dialogue to be resumed and ties to be restored in the interests of the people of Turkey and Russia,” Putin said.

Putin is interested in mending the rift with Turkey in the hopes of reviving key economic projects, including a much-touted pipeline to carry natural gas to Turkey, and expanding Russia’s clout in Syria.

Erdoğan, in his opening remarks, thanked Putin twice for inviting him to Russia and said cooperation between the two countries should benefit the entire region.

“The region has expectations of us politically. I believe that our solidarity will help toward the resolution of regional problems,” he said.

Erdoğan also mentioned that Putin was one of the first world leaders to call him after the attempted coup on July 15 to express his support, which Erdogan said “gladdened me, my colleagues and our people.”

Putin earlier in the meeting said it’s Russia’s “first stance” to oppose any “actions that counter the constitution.”

Analysts say that Erdoğan may also be hoping to play the Russian card to strengthen his hand in disputes with the United States and European Union.

Turkey is pressing the United States hard to extradite Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom the government blames for the failed coup. Gülen denies the claims.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground center, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second left, prepare for the talks during their meeting in the Konstantin palace outside St.Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. President Erdogan travels to Russia to meet with President Putin for the first time since apologizing in late June for the downing of a Russian fighter jet along the Syrian border in November last year. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on the right back to a camera. ( (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground center, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, second left, prepare for the talks during their meeting in the Konstantin palace outside St.Petersburg, Russia, on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. Photo: AP/Alexander Zemlianichenko