Putin and Erdogan contacts underline complex Russia-Turkey ties
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Friday
August 19, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2022
Putin and Erdogan contacts underline complex Russia-Turkey ties

World+Biz

Reuters
05 August, 2022, 05:35 pm
Last modified: 05 August, 2022, 08:04 pm

Related News

  • Xi, Putin to attend G20 summit in Indonesia
  • Russian Jews head for Israel as Kremlin targets emigration group
  • India eases Russian oil buying in July, boosts Saudi imports
  • Coca-Cola and McDonald's left Russia. Their brands stayed behind
  • China to send troops to Russia for 'Vostok' exercise

Putin and Erdogan contacts underline complex Russia-Turkey ties

Reuters
05 August, 2022, 05:35 pm
Last modified: 05 August, 2022, 08:04 pm
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS

Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan meet on Friday for the second time in just over two weeks, after Turkey helped broker a deal to resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports which were blocked by Russia's invasion.

President Erdogan's supporters say the agreement, which could curb soaring global food prices, highlights the importance of NATO member Turkey's diplomatic contacts with both sides.

Although Turkey has criticised the Russian invasion and provided Ukraine with arms, it has broken with Western allies by not imposing sanctions on Russia.

That careful balance reflects the complexity of its ties with Russia, ranging from close cooperation on energy supplies to military competition in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan.

Ukraine

Days after President Putin and Erdogan met in Tehran last month, Turkey oversaw a deal for the resumption of Ukraine's grain exports.

Under the agreement, Turkey is hosting a joint centre where Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and United Nations representatives will work to ensure the safe transit of Ukraine's exports to world markets.

Turkey depends heavily on Russia and Ukraine for grain. Russia accounted for 56% of Turkish grain imports in 2021 at $2.24 billion, while imports from Ukraine amounted to $861 million

Arms sales

Turkish Bayraktar drones sold to Ukraine played a prominent role in slowing the advance of Russian forces when they pushed into Ukrainian territory in February.

But Turkey also has growing defence ties with Russia.

It bought Russian S-400 missile defence batteries in 2019 and has suggested it could buy more, angering Washington which cancelled the sale of US F-35 fighter jets and sanctioned Turkey's defence industries.

Erdogan said last year Turkey was considering more joint defence industry steps with Russia, including for fighter jets and submarines.

Rivals in war

In Syria, Turkey backs fighters who once appeared close to toppling President Bashar al-Assad, until Russian intervention shored up the Syrian leader and helped drive the insurgents back to a small pocket of northwest Syria on the Turkish border.

In February 2020, when an air strike killed at least 34 Turkish soldiers, Turkey poured reinforcements into the northwestern Idlib region to stall advances by Russian-backed Syrian government forces which had displaced 1 million people.

Erdogan says Turkey plans another incursion into northern Syria targeting areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters, drawing criticism from Russia, Iran and the United States.

In Libya, Turkey's military intervention turned back an assault on the internationally-recognised government in Tripoli by eastern-based forces who were supported - according to United Nations experts - by fighters from the Russian Wagner Group.

In Azerbaijan, Turkey supported a military assault to drive ethnic Armenian forces out of much of the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh enclave in the south Caucasus - a region which Russia considers part of its sphere of influence.

Energy

Russian natural gas made up 45% of import-dependent Turkey's gas purchases last year, which hit a record level as a result of drought and a related rise in gas-driven power production.

Russian nuclear conglomerate Rosatom is also building a nuclear plant at Akkuyu in southern Turkey, which Putin has said will start working next year.

The plant is expected to provide up to 10% of Turkey's energy needs and will continue to be operated and managed by Rosatom for several decades.

Tourism

Seven million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2019, the largest number from any country, before the coronavirus pandemic drastically cut foreign travel. Tourism remains a significant source of hard currency for the Turkish economy.

Personal chemestry

Putin and Erdogan have led their countries for two rollercoaster decades.

In 2015 Turkey's military shot down a Russian jet which crossed into Turkish air space, prompting a crisis in relations. But less than a year later, Putin was one of the first world leaders to express support for Erdogan when he survived a coup attempt, laying the foundation for their growing defence ties.

Both, however, have kept each other waiting at summit meetings, prompting media speculation about games of one-upmanship. Erdogan was left waiting for two minutes by Putin in 2020, only for the tables to be turned in Tehran last month.

"Was it revenge?" asked Turkey's T24 website in a headline.

Top News

Russia / Russia-Turkey Relations / Russian President Vladimir Putin / Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • The curious case of RMG import growth overtaking export’s
    The curious case of RMG import growth overtaking export’s
  • Japanese ambassador seeks equal incentives for foreign cos at EPZs
    Japanese ambassador seeks equal incentives for foreign cos at EPZs
  • Requested India to help Bangladesh maintain stability, harmony: Momen
    Requested India to help Bangladesh maintain stability, harmony: Momen

MOST VIEWED

  • A cyclist rides in the rain under Chinese and Hong Kong flags decorating a street, before the 25th anniversary of the former British colony's handover to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Paul Yeung
    China set to lower lending benchmarks to revive wobbly economy
  • Shoppers walk down Hohe Strasse shopping district one day before Germany goes back to a complete lockdown due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cologne, Germany, December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
    Energy squeeze could see Berlin's gaslights flicker out
  • The exterior of the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
    Fed united on need for higher rates, divided over how high
  • Elon Musk's Twitter profile is seen on a smartphone placed on printed Twitter logos in this picture illustration taken April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
    Musk targets ad tech firms in Twitter suit over takeover deal
  • A Wall Street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, New York, U.S., October 2, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
    Wall St ends higher, Cisco Systems jumps after forecast
  • The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd and US Coast Guard cutter Munro conduct Taiwan Strait transits August 27, 2021. Photo: Reuters
    'Indescribable' pressure: Taiwan thanks Navy amid China tensions

Related News

  • Xi, Putin to attend G20 summit in Indonesia
  • Russian Jews head for Israel as Kremlin targets emigration group
  • India eases Russian oil buying in July, boosts Saudi imports
  • Coca-Cola and McDonald's left Russia. Their brands stayed behind
  • China to send troops to Russia for 'Vostok' exercise

Features

We will be facing massive, recurring challenges in the coming years no matter what. Photo: Reuters

Holes in the recession story

21h | Panorama
Illustration: Bloomberg

What nonmonogamy can teach moonlighters and job jugglers

20h | Pursuit
The members of BracU Dichari in Poland for the ERL Championship Round. Photo: Courtesy

BracU Dichari: A Bangladeshi robotics team on the world stage

22h | Pursuit
FundedNext aims to provide funds to traders with the best possible trading experience and to maximise the opportunity to unleash their true potential. Photo: Noor-A-Alam

FundedNext: A global prop-trading firm built by a Bangladeshi youth

22h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

How economic journalism touches lives

How economic journalism touches lives

5m | Videos
City dwellers fed up with unbearable heat

City dwellers fed up with unbearable heat

10m | Videos
Love, marriage, trolls, and an unusual death

Love, marriage, trolls, and an unusual death

11h | Videos
Are elephants on the verge of extinction in Bangladesh?

Are elephants on the verge of extinction in Bangladesh?

12h | Videos

Most Read

1
From left Afzal Karim, Murshedul Kabir and Mohammad Jahangir
Banking

Sonali, Agrani and Rupali banks get new MDs

2
Russia now offers Bangladesh finished oil
Energy

Russia now offers Bangladesh finished oil

3
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

5 crushed to death as BRT girder falls on car in Uttara

4
Photo: Collected
Economy

Bangladesh is not in a crisis situation: IMF

5
Dollar price drops by Tk8 in kerb market
Economy

Dollar price drops by Tk8 in kerb market

6
Eight more banks make unusual gains from forex dealings
Banking

Eight more banks make unusual gains from forex dealings

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]