Putin Accepts Erdogan’s Apology, Ends Quarrel between Turkey and Russia
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at Konstantinovsky Palace near St. Petersburg in the Turkish leader’s first trip abroad since the coup attempt and the sweeping crackdowns that followed — including claims that a U.S.-based Turkish cleric inspired the putsch.
The meeting between Putin and Erdogan “is a big deal . . . Turkish foreign policy now stands at a crossroads,” said Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
“For the first time in recent memory, there is serious discussion of Turkey’s NATO membership,” he said. And some Turkish officials are questioning whether Turkey should move toward Russia, he said.
Erdogan “could easily accomplish this pivot,” Cagaptay said, especially given the reduced state of the Turkish military. The armed forces have the strongest interest in maintaining NATO ties, he said, but are damaged after undergoing thousands of arrests since the coup attempt.
Putin offers Turkey's Erdogan closer ties
Russia is ready to restore economic co-operation and other ties with Turkey, President Vladimir Putin has told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St Petersburg. It is Mr Erdogan's first foreign visit since an attempted coup last month. Mr Erdogan thanked Mr Putin, saying "your call straight after the coup attempt was very welcome"
The visit comes as Turkey's ties with the West have cooled over criticism of Mr Erdogan's purge of alleged coup-plotters.
Before leaving Turkey, Mr Erdogan referred to President Putin as his "friend" and said he wanted to open a new page in relations with Russia. Mr Putin said their talks would cover "the whole range of our relations... including restoring economic ties, combating terrorism".
... Before the dispute, Russia was a major export market for Turkish fruit and vegetables - so now Turkey is anxious to get the Russian import ban lifted. Ditto for TurkStream gas pipeline across the Black Sea and the Akkuyu nuclear plant being built by Russia's Rosatom in Turkey.
They back opposing sides in Syria. Turkey is furious at the scale of Russian air support for Syrian government forces, as Mr Erdogan reviles Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia has accused Turkey of backing Islamist anti-Assad groups, including some accused of "terrorism" in Russia.
Turkey is at war with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the PKK's Syrian allies. Mr Erdogan has accused Russia of arming the PKK.
For centuries Russia and Turkey have been rivals for influence in the Caucasus and Black Sea region.
Turkey was also angered by Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, accusing Moscow of violating the rights of Crimean Tatars. The Muslim Tatars have long had close ties to Turkey.