Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan have met again almost a year after their last meeting in Astana. A lot has happened since then, from the Turkish president’s narrow victory in the last elections to the issuing of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Putin last March, forcing him not to leave Russia at all.
As announced last week, this Monday Erdoğan traveled to the resort town of Sochi, where his Russian counterpart was waiting for him. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, few world leaders have traveled to Russia to meet with the Kremlin chief. Despite its membership in NATO, today Turkey can be considered one of Russia’s strategic partners, despite the difficult times between these two countries.
Both presidents confirm that they maintain constant telephone communication, which testifies to the good harmony between Moscow and Ankara. The rapprochement took place in early August through a phone call between the two presidents. In it, President Putin spoke about Russia’s “position” on the freezing of the Grain Export Pact and recalled it The export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets has not been released, one of the Kremlin’s requirements when signing the famous agreement with the United Nations to facilitate Ukrainian exports. For his part, the Turkish President expressed his commitment continue to do everything possible to enable the suspension of the Grains Agreementprovided that a ban “is of no use to anyone for an extended period of time”.
This suspension was ordered by Moscow last July. The Russian President this Monday expressed his positive position on resuming the Grain Export Pact Only if the West lifts part of the economic sanctions imposed on Russia slowing down the movement of Russian products, and the reconnection of at least one Russian agricultural bank to the SWIFT system. According to Putin, it would continue “when the promises made (by the West) are fulfilled”.
Since the Agreement on the Export of Ukrainian Grain came into force in the summer of last year Kiev was able to ship 33 million tons from its Black Sea ports. The suspension allowed Ukraine to offload only a small portion of its production from other inland ports.
Despite the current situation, President Erdogan is confident that an agreement can be reached to resume Ukraine’s exports, given the shortage of grain in many poor countries, which has suffered a price hike due to increased transport costs and the reduction in grain prices being exported. That’s why he brought it up Your country will submit a set of recommendations to the UN that will satisfy Moscow and Kiev.
The other issue discussed by both leaders was the war in Ukraine, which has always been an issue at every international meeting attended by President Putin. The Russian leader focused on the famous Ukrainian counter-offensive and its “little success”. “As for the Ukrainian counter-offensive: it has not stalled, it has failed, or at least that’s how it looks today.”. “We’ll see what happens later, hopefully it will continue like this,” said Vladimir Putin, whose plans in the conflict remain a mystery.
Russia remains on the sidelines and has not played a very active role on the front lines in recent months, as the advance of Ukrainian troops has not been as great as expected, despite having significantly greater resources. The dreaded Wagner Battalion is no longer part of the Russian ranks, and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died last month, is no longer an embarrassment to the Kremlin. On the other hand, General Sergei Surovikin, the main architect of Russia’s successes on the battlefield, has been sacked. With no new mobilizations in sight, Moscow endures the Ukrainian hardships in order to launch its offensive once winter has set in, while continuing to produce weapons and drones.
The Russian leader used his meeting with the media after his meeting with Erdogan to reiterate that “the conflict (with Ukraine) can only be ended through diplomacy.” In war there will be no winners, in a just peace there are none Loser. “We have heard about some new initiatives (to achieve peace) but these have never been discussed with us. We don’t see anything new.
In terms of bilateral relations between the two countries, several agreements have been signed, including the creation of a gas hub in Turkey. In addition, it is planned to start up the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, built with the direct participation of Moscow, next year. The President stressed that Russia is always in a hurry to help Turkey cope with the consequences of natural disasters. Putin and Erdogan have also agreed to continue working together to resolve the conflict in Syria.In the context of the “Astana format” and possible support for Moscow, Turkey was also discussed so that Turkey can become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Ankara’s proposed reform of the body begins today in New York.
