Following his controversial visit to Ukraine, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached out to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Feb. 4 to sort out differences on Syria and show that their partnership and cooperation endures.

For those aware of the nature and structure of the Turkish-Russian relationship, the move was predictable. Whatever the conflicting interests and visions of the two main players in Eurasian geopolitics, Erdogan cannot afford to alienate and confront Putin at this juncture.

Erdogan’s Feb. 3 visit to Ukraine was marked by symbolism and statements that drew Russia’s ire. His assertion of the illegitimacy of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, though not his first, was significant at a time when Russian-backed Syrian forces were gaining ground in Idlib, inflicting casualties on Turkish military personnel in the region. Erdogan also saluted the Ukrainian honor guard by saying “Slava Ukraine” (Glory to Ukraine), a slogan used by pro-Nazi Ukrainian nationalists during World War II. The current usage has anti-Russian connotations of Ukrainian nationalism for Moscow. Turkey’s commitment of some $34 million in military aid to Kyiv was another manifestation of the widening cracks between Turkey and Russia revealed recently by developments in Idlib.

The Turkish gestures to Kyiv crossed Russian red lines and, in turn, Turkey hit a Russian wall in Idlib. So Erdogan picked up the phone as soon as he was back to Ankara to reassure Putin of his faith in Turkey's partnership with Russia. He knew it was Russia that spearheaded the latest military offensive in Idlib that put Turkey’s military presence in jeopardy, but pretended that it was the Syrian government forces violating the principles agreed between Turkey and Russia in Sochi in September 2018.