At his meeting with Turkish President Erdogan, Putin spoke out in favor of signing an agreement to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries. “I hope that today we can sign a memorandum on the development of our trade and economic relations,” Putin said at the meeting in the Russian Black Sea port city on Friday.
“I believe that (today’s meeting) will turn a whole new page in Turkish-Russian relations,” Erdogan said. He added that the conflict in Syria will be discussed in particular. Turkey already occupies areas in northern Syria and justifies a renewed offensive with a “terrorist threat” on the part of the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.
At the last meeting between Erdogan and Putin in mid-July, the Russian president made it clear that he rejected Turkey’s plans. “Turkey has legitimate interests for security reasons, which we of course take into account,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov before the meeting on Friday. However, it is “very important not to allow any measures that could lead to a destabilization of the situation in Syria or endanger Syria’s territorial and political integrity”.
Military cooperation possible
Shortly after the start of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Erdogan said he would not rule out arms deals with Russia. For example, Russia is interested in the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2, which has been successfully used by the Ukrainian military. Putin has suggested working with Turkey on Baykar’s drones, Erdogan said, according to broadcaster CNN Türk.
Erdogan’s son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar is the company’s technical director (CTO). His brother Haluk, CEO of Baykar, is an outspoken supporter of Ukraine and in a CNN interview in July rejected the sale of Bayraktar drones to Russia.
Krisai (ORF) on the Putin-Erdogan meeting
ORF correspondent Paul Krisai reports on the meeting between Turkish President Erdogan and Russian President Putin.
Turkey sees itself as a mediator
Putin had thanked Erdogan in advance for mediating the conclusion of the grain agreement in a statement in Sochi. Turkey maintains close ties with both Ukraine and Russia and sees itself as a mediator between the two parties. Erdogan and Putin last met in Tehran in mid-July – mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, both warring parties recently agreed to resume grain exports from three blocked Ukrainian ports.
Last Monday, the first ship loaded with corn left the port of Odessa. Other ships are to follow. Because of the war, all of Ukraine’s grain exports from its Black Sea ports have been blocked for the past few months.
The grain deal is considered a “great diplomatic victory” for Erdogan, writes the German news site Welt. And Moscow is also benefiting from the deal, as it will ease the anger of its eastern allies over the rise in food prices.
Economic interests in the background
Of course, there are also economic interests behind the Turkish president’s efforts to maintain diplomatic relations with Russia. Russian natural gas accounted for 45 percent of import-dependent Turkey’s gas purchases last year, which hit record levels due to the drought and the associated surge in gas-fired power generation.
The Russian nuclear company Rosatom is also building a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu in southern Turkey, which Putin says should go into operation next year. The power plant is intended to cover up to 10 percent of Turkey’s energy requirements and will be operated and managed by Rosatom for several decades to come.
In addition, the parliamentary and presidential elections are due in Turkey next year, and the Turkish economy is facing unprecedented inflation at just under 80 percent. Tourism is considered one of the most important stable sources of income – and in 2019, seven million Russians made up the most tourists from Russia, according to the Archyde.com agency.