Form of words:
aAfter the fanfare, the anticlimax. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan quietly left the city after his summit meeting with Vladimir Putin last week. No official statement was also made about their discussions in Sochi.
The thoughtful departure was doubly odd. Erdogan is not one to miss an opportunity to show off his international status, and it was heralded as the most consequential meeting between the two men in years.
The Sochi summit was meant to represent the next step in Turkey’s break from a fractious alliance with the US and towards deeper ties with Russia. Before your visit to the Black Sea resort town, Erdogana spoke openly About her lack of rapport with President Joe Biden, and generally the deteriorating relations between their countries. “I honestly can’t say that Turkey-US relations have a healthy process,” he told reporters during a visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
At the same time, he spoke on the close relationship between Ankara and Moscow. If he and Putin hadn’t always been on the lookout for certain things – such as Turkey’s encroachment into the Russian sphere of influence in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, and Russia’s interference with Turkish interests in Syria and Libya – the two men could have settled their differences in Sochi. Will solve “We will certainly reach an important decision in Turkey-Russia relations,” Erdogan said.
But seeing the spin from both the sides after the summit, no significant decision was taken. Putin and Erdogan only met with their translators. Their discussion lasted three hours, which is not very long when you take into account the time it takes to translate. putin described their conversation as “useful” and Erdogan tweeted that it has been “Producer.”
Translated from diplomatic, it means that nothing was achieved at the meeting.
This is not a problem for Putin. Russia has already got most of what it wants from the Turks. Under Erdogan, Turkey has moved away from the main security threats to the US and NATO, Moscow, and has become increasingly more dependent on Russia. Turkey’s economy runs on Russian natural gas; Its tourism industry increasingly depends on Russian visitors.
On his way back home, Erdogan told reporters that he was Willing to buy more Russian military hardware, including ships, warplanes and submarines, as well as two nuclear power plants. They also reiterated their commitment to acquire a second S-400 missile defense system, which would further isolate and invite other NATO allies. fresh US sanctions.
This is all music to Putin’s ears. But Erdogan received nothing from the Russian president on two of Ankara’s most pressing concerns – one about Moscow’s maneuvers in Syria, the other about the price of gas. Turkey is concerned about the recent increase in a joint Russian-Syrian attack on Idlibo, the last rebellion of the rebels backed by the Turks.
The province, which borders Turkey, is home to 4 million people, and the Erdogan government fears a new wave of refugees fleeing the fighting. Turkey is already home The world’s largest concentration of refugees – According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, more than 3.7 million. Turkey’s growing outrage about the presence of so many foreigners is a political liability for Erdogan, whose approval ratings are already being eroded by widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the economy.
On the gas front, whose supply is Turkey negotiating with? 8 million cubic meters from Russia’s Gazpromo at a time when prices are rising fast Thanks for the Chinese demand. With winter approaching, Ankara is eager to conclude new contracts, and is hoping that Erdogan’s access to Putin will lead to favorable terms.
But in Sochi, Putin made only vague rhetoric about “very successful” Turkish-Russian cooperation in Syria and Libya with no promises on Idlib. Similarly, he thought Turkey could feel “absolutely confident and stable” about Russian gas supplies, but gave no assurances about pricing.
As he was burning his bridges with America, Erdogan was expecting more than mere condemnation from Putin. But their summit showed that the Russian president has his Turkish counterpart where he wants them. No wonder Erdogan dropped out of Sochi. – bloomberg
Read also: These are the parties Russia will choose in the Duma elections, the results could help Putin in 2024
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