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Turkey rebuilds ties to Russia on regional issues

Turkey reconsiders its relations with Russia, testing a more pragmatic approach to the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in Strelna near St. Petersburg, November 22, 2013. Putin said on Friday Western states must persuade the Syrian opposition to attend talks with President Bashar al-Assad's government which he said should take place as soon as possible.  REUTERS/Aleksey Nikolskyi/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) 

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Turkey and Russia have had their political differences in the past. This has been most apparent over Syria where the two countries have backed opposing factions in the country’s civil war. Ankara and Moscow have even gone so far as to accuse each other — albeit diplomatically — of prolonging the suffering in Syria. 

As indicated in this column in December 2012, however, the already vast and still growing economic cooperation between the two countries — valued at tens of billions of dollars and involving strategic fields like nuclear energy — has ensured that they keep their ties in a positive mode, regardless of political differences.

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