Moscow: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have talks with Vladimir Putin in Russia next month amid a rapid warming in relations following the failed military coup in Turkey.
Russia “isn’t just our close and friendly neighbour, but also a strategic partner,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, who announced the August 9 visit, said at talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Arkady Dvorkovich on Tuesday. “Today, we are here to normalise the situation and our relations as soon as possible and at an accelerated pace since they were disrupted on November 24,” when Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, he said.
There’ll be no shortage of things to discuss at the summit between Putin and Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday as he confirmed the August 9 meeting in St Petersburg.
The attempt by elements of the military to oust Erdogan has turbocharged efforts to restore ties between Turkey and Russia that were already under way after the crisis over the downing of the warplane. The rapprochement may even lead to a political realignment in the region. Erdogan has attracted strong criticism from the US and other Nato allies for a sweeping crackdown on tens of thousands of alleged opponents in the military, civil service, business and academia following the failed coup, while Turkey has heaped praise on Russia for its support since the crisis erupted on July 15.
Simsek emphasised Turkey’s gratitude to Russia at the talks with Dvorkovich on restoring economic ties, saying: “You supported democracy, supported the government. Thank you very much.”
Russia and Turkey may form an alliance of “two developing economies with an ideology of sovereign values as a union of the deceived against the West,” Alexander Baunov, a senior associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said in emailed comments.
Violations of rights and freedoms by the Erdogan government after the coup attempt mean “moving away automatically from the West, which hasn’t yet decided how much to tolerate in order not to alienate” Turkey, while Russia isn’t concerned about such abuses and can show it’s ready to be friends, he said.
Turkey received “unconditional support” from Russia over the coup attempt, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview to Haberturk TV on Monday.
Putin ordered the Russian government last month to begin lifting sanctions imposed on Turkey after Erdogan sent a letter offering “sympathy and profound condolences” to the family of the Russian pilot who died when Turkey shot down his plane during the November mission to bomb Daesh terrorists in Syria.
Russia is “ready for constructive discussions” with Turkey and a gradual improvement in relations that includes thawing frozen economic ties and restoring tourism, Dvorkovich said.
