Erdogan’s antics keep Russia on its toes
Turkey’s president takes actions that sometimes seem like self-sabotage, like surprising Moscow with his recent statements on the Crimean Peninsula and his decision to complicate Russia’s export procedures.
Turkey’s relationship with Russia seems to keep both sides on edge. Today, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is praising Russia as Turkey’s partner in a new Syrian operation. He is proclaiming that Ankara will proceed with its purchase of the S-400 weapons system from Moscow — something he said was in doubt earlier in the week.
Last week, as Erdogan was visiting Ukraine, he directed a pair of irksome announcements toward Russia, one regarding the Crimean Peninsula and one about new import restrictions on Russian agricultural goods.
Erdogan traveled to Ukraine Oct. 9 for the countries’ High-Level Strategic Council meeting. He also met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The sides signed a number of agreements and said they would work to raise the volume of bilateral trade to $10 billion a year, from $3.8 billion currently. Also, Turkey’s leading defense company, ASELSAN A.S., signed a $43.6 million contract to supply a communications system for the Ukrainian armed forces in 2018.
Poroshenko said he was satisfied with the negotiations’ results. “The meeting … has been completed in a very trust-based and constructive atmosphere,” he said during a joint briefing with his Turkish counterpart.
