SOHR: Putin praises Erdogan’s talks as “useful.”
Putin praises Erdogan’s talks as “useful.”
As they met to discuss the Syrian war, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised the three-hour meeting as “helpful” and “constructive.”
It had been 18 months since they had spoken face to face.
After two weeks of self-isolation due to a coronavirus outbreak among aides, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Erdogan in his Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The two officials were anticipated to discuss northwestern Syria, where regime forces and Moscow have increased airstrikes in recent weeks, but they did not speak to reporters following the meeting.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Tuesday that Ankara believed the negotiations would lead to a return to “a calm situation as agreed.”
Putin congratulated Erdogan for his visit, calling it “helpful and enlightening” in a friendly post-negotiation exchange that included a discussion of their coronavirus antibody levels.
He continued, “We’ll be in touch.”
Erdogan described the negotiations as “constructive” in a tweet.
Russia and Turkey have had thorny relations in the past, balancing regional rivalries with common economic and strategic goals.
The two powers have fought in recent years, particularly in Syria, where Moscow and Ankara back opposite sides in the civil war.
Last year, they supported a truce in the northwestern Idlib province of Syria, which is home to the last major jihadist and rebel stronghold in the country.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 11 pro-Turkish rebel fighters were killed in Russian air raids outside the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Sunday.
Such Russian strikes, according to the war monitor, are uncommon in this part of Syria, which Turkey and its Syrian opposition partners have held for three years.
Erdogan informed Putin earlier in the day that he feels there are significant benefits to “Turkey and Russia maintaining better relations with each passing day.”
Erdogan stated, “The steps we have taken with Russia in relation to Syria are of paramount importance.” “The peace there is contingent on relations between Turkey and Russia.”
Last year’s fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh pitted the two countries against each other.
“Negotiations can be difficult at times, but they always end in a beneficial outcome,” Putin told Erdogan.
He went on to say that they “have learned to create compromises that are beneficial to all parties.”
Due to tensions between Moscow and the West, as well as Ankara’s increasingly tense relations with its NATO partners, the two countries have grown closer in recent years.
Turkey decided to buy the Russian-made S-400 air defense system for a multibillion-dollar price in 2019.
Source: Washington Newsday