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Erdogan Heads to Russia amid Improving Ties

Erdogan Heads to Russia amid Improving Ties
folder_openTurkey access_time7 years ago
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Local Editor

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan heads to Russia this week as part of efforts to rebuild ties shattered by Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last year - just as Turkey's relations with traditional allies the United States and Europe show increasing strain amid Ankara's crackdown following a failed coup.

Erdogan Heads to Russia amid Improving Ties

Tuesday's visit to St. Petersburg for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be Erdogan's first foreign trip since the abortive July 15 putsch, in which a group of renegade Turkish military officers attempted to seize power using fighter jets, helicopters and tanks in a night of violence that left more than 270 people dead.

Both Erdogan and Putin are interested in mending the rift and reviving economic and trade ties, a process that began in June following Ankara's apology for shooting down the Russian plane, which had been running bombing sorties in neighboring Syria.

"This will be a historic visit, a new beginning. I believe, a new page in our relations will be turned. Our countries have much to do together," Erdogan said in an interview with the Russian state news agency Tass.

However, some fundamental differences remain.

The Russian bomber's downing in November, which Putin described as a "treacherous stab in the back," came amid boiling tension over Syria, where Moscow and Ankara backed opposing sides in the conflict.

Meanwhile, neither country has fundamentally altered its stance on Syria; and the issue could still prove a sticking point.

The visit comes as Turkey's relations with traditional allies falter over Ankara's post-coup crackdown, which has seen nearly 18,000 people detained or arrested and tens of thousands suspended or fired from their jobs on suspicion of being associated with the movement of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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