Russia and Turkey continue to normalize its relations amid active military operations in Syria.
On October 10, the World Energy Forum started in Istanbul. The event, which was ignored by many leaders, became a reason for the first Putin’s visit to Turkey after the crisis in relations between the two countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as a result of which an agreement on the Turkish Stream pipeline was signed, as well as the Russian side announced lifting of the embargo on the supply of fruits from Turkey.
Judging by the agreements, the Russian-Turkish ‘consensus’ on Syria remains in effect. Warming of the relations after a failed coup attempt in Turkey continues to affect improvement of both political and economic relations. The Russian Gazprom energy company will receive the coveted pipeline, laid through the territory of Turkey, and Turkey will receive a discount and lifting of some part of the economic sanctions.
The tactical partnership with Erdogan in Syria gives Russia an opportunity to demonstrate a failure of the US strategy aiming to isolate Russia. It is remarkable that the sides keep a diplomatic silence, regarding each other’s actions in Syria: Russia and Iran have only criticized a bit Erdogan for the Euphrates Shield, while Erdogan has only scolded a bit Bashar Al-Assad for the actions in Aleppo. The fact that the sides do not take any decisive steps against each other once again shows that there are some unspoken agreements on spheres of influence in the country.
The agreements with Erdogan allow Moscow to to fight more effectively against the US-backed terrorists in the Arab country. For sure, Ankara, which remains the main logistical hub for militant groups operating in the country, can influence the course of conflict.
In turn, the White House has almost no internal levers to influence the situation. Deliveries of arms to ‘opposition’ does not work as well as before due to increased military involvemet of Russia and Iran in the war. This is why Washington is being pushed to take part in the Syrian conflict, directly . This may indicate that the conflict is heading to a new phase of the escalation.
i think erdogan has the key of this conflict’s future,
whether you like him or not is not the issue now.
he is indeed a ice cold politician.
yes cruel. and a warcriminal. yes you are right.
but now he has the key. and he is one tough and clever son of a bitch.
let’s hope he repays his debt by making a good decision this time.
in fact i think the opposite – Erdogan is one of the main causes the civil war started, is the one who ordered dams to be built on rivers in Turkey to deprive syria of water, hence causing the draught and famine that has been instrumental in the start of the protests in 2011-2012. After russian intervention, which he could not predict at all, he tried to cause a war between NATO and Russia, but failed again. In the end, he changed sides and basically gave up on fronting Russia, obtaining in exchange maybe just whatever he needs to save face. All things that are not tough nor clever. son of a bitch though, probably still applies.
he needs to save his life. for erdogan it became the same situtation as putin and assad. to live or die. yes he has a lot of blood in his hands. that is true. but he also has the key in his hand in the development of this regional war. so may god help us erdogan will make a different choice.
Erdogan is an imbecile. The reasons he joined the russian camp are that his Al Nusra friends will not win the war, Putin spanked him with sanctions after the su-24 shootdown, the kurds became dangerous and ISIS are doing terrorist attacks in Turkey. And the CIA not helping him with the coup or warning him. The americans were waiting to see what the result would be. Some allies!
He fucked up big time and now shifted his policies, betting on the winning horse.
putin in a briefing said that the russian su-24 shoot down operation was without erdogan’s approval. and the one who were responsible for that are now all arrested. yes another failed US dirty operation.
The CIA set up the coup because Erdogan was getting cold feet, feeling like the US wasn’t backing him up after putting him out on a limb. The CIA has the really repetitive pattern of using people so clumsily and callously that they turn against them, then the CIA tries to get rid of them. Manuel Noreiga, Saddam Hussein, the Iranian revolutionaries that took over and made the Islamic Republic of Iran, Erdogan, Osama bin Laden, the list goes on. People skills and imagination are not traits Langley has in abundance. All the wannabe James Bonds down there tend to think that the key to success is to be the most ruthless arsehole possible. They romanticise it; their ‘hard-edged’ little world, that more humane, sane people ‘couldn’t handle.’ It makes them feel special; a particular subset of machismo, if you will.
Good evening Gue. I tend to agree with you on the importance of Erdogan. He survived the attempt against him and is still in the game. He has the ability to shut the door on the US and the Europeans. He stands in a critical position. The West is nowhere near as high and mighty as it was a decade ago. The Chinese parking a warship in Syria for a visit is clear testimony to this,