Erdogan to visit his friend Putin in Sochi
Ukraine and Syria will be the main points of discussion. The Turkey-mediated grain deal between Ukraine and Russia still reverberates. Turkey’s “sultan” defends Russia’s “tsar” from Western criticism. Both want to keep their hold on power.
Moscow (AsiaNews) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin) on 5 August, at the Russian leader’s summer retreat in Sochi (Russia).
The two leaders are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, grain shipments in the Black Sea, the overall situation in the region, and Syria.
The meeting comes as the echoes of their previous meeting on 19 July in Tehran with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi have not yet died down.
On 22 July, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a deal on Ukraine’s grain exports, brokered by Turkey. Likewise, Turkey, Russia and the United Nations reached an agreement on Russian food and fertiliser exports.
For some observers, it would be more logical for Erdogan to visit Kyiv, since Turkey is a strategic partner of Ukraine, and one of its main weapons supplier. In addition to that, Ankara controls the Bosporus and the Dardanelles Strait, strategic waterways that Russian ships cannot avoid.
Turkey is also mediating between the two warring countries, and its contacts with Russia appear to have the blessing of Turkey’s western partners.
As a NATO member, Turkey’s support for the alliance’s enlargement to include Sweden and Finland was essential; in exchange, the two northern countries agreed to stop supporting the Kurds.
Putin has repeatedly expressed respect and admiration for Erdogan, one of the very few leaders in the world to be so rewarded. In fact, seem to be two peas in a pod.
While their interests have diverged in several contexts with the two have directly facing off, as in Libya and Syria, they have also worked together on a number of projects, like the Akkuiu nuclear power plant.
Turkey also sells weapons and technology to Moscow, while Russian tourists have saved the Eurasian country’s tourist sector. Turkey has also not imposed sanctions on Russia in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.
Speaking on Russia’s TV TNT, Erdogan defended Putin, stating: “You already know the attitude of Western politicians towards Putin. This is not typical of politics. The attitude you show towards him is what you will get.”
For the Turkish leader, friendlier relations are needed to achieve something. But domestic considerations are also driving his moves since his electoral fortunes are not as predictable as Putin’s in Russia.
Over the past few years, Erdogan's party has lost several major cities, even Istanbul. If he loses his almost absolute power, charges, investigations, and convictions will quickly follow.
In 2004, on the wave of the country’s great economic surge, Erdogan was crowned “European of the Year", but his meeting with Putin is raising questions about Europe’s identity.
But, for the two autocrats, the main goal is boosting their power; Putin through war, and Erdogan, through some sort of “moral superiority” across the East-West divide.
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