Having been trapped in its balancing act between Russia and the United States, Turkish diplomacy is trying to navigate rough waters. After Ankara’s efforts to strengthen its position in NATO and mend ties with Washington at the expense of Moscow have failed, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Yet, his departure from the Russian resort town of Sochi without a joint presser with Putin indicates the extent to which Ankara’s position had weakened before the summit.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov’s description of the meeting as “the most comprehensive agenda since bilateral relations started” was a harbinger of the challenging negotiations awaiting the two leaders.

The Sept. 29 tete-a-tete, in which disputed issues including Syria, the Caucasus, Libya, Afghanistan, new natural gas contracts and Turkey’s possible acquisition of additional Russian-made S-400s missiles were discussed, lasted some two hours and 45 minutes. Considering the time spent for the translation, it was a rather short meeting than expected after a 19-month-long pause. 

Erdogan’s remark after the meeting fit in a tweet: “We had a productive meeting with my counterpart Putin and left Sochi.”