The leaders of Turkey and Russia met in St. Petersburg on Tuesday to discuss how to mend diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries. Russia and Turkey have been in a diplomatic crisis since Turkish troops downed a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border last November. The meeting was the first between the two presidents since the incident and also President Erdogan’s first foreign trip since the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey.
The leaders of Turkey and Russia met in St. Petersburg on Tuesday to discuss how to mend diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries. Russia and Turkey have been in a diplomatic crisis since Turkish troops downed a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border last November. The meeting was the first between the two presidents since the incident and also President Erdogan’s first foreign trip since the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey.
In a press conference following the Erdogan-Putin meeting, the leaders announced that Russian economic measures against Turkey would be lifted “step by step”. After the downing of the fighter jet, President Putin had placed sanctions on Turkish food products and construction projects, as well as stopping charter flights to the country. Russia had also set restrictions on Turkish workers in Russian companies and suspended work on a joint Black Sea pipeline project. Economic losses resulting from these measures, as well as Turkey’s souring relationships with the European Union and the U.S. following the coup attempt, are cited as the main reasons for President Erdogan’s desire to rekindle relationships with Russia.
Photos from the meeting show the two presidents smiling, with Erdogan calling Putin “my dear friend” in the ensuing press conference. Until the recent crisis, the two leaders were known to be on particularly amicable terms, often publicly expressing respect for each other – the Russian President has called the fighter jet incident a “stab in the back.”
The initiative to mend relationships between Russia and Turkey emerged shortly before the coup attempt, when President Erdogan wrote a letter to his Russian counterpart expressing regret for the downing of the jet. In a piece for the Turkish daily Hurriyet on Tuesday, however, journalist Murat Yetkin notes that the move to restore ties between the two countries have been in the works for months, with top-ranking Russian and Turkish officials laboring over the content and wording of Erdogan’s letter. Russia has received the letter warmly, and President Putin was amongst the first foreign leaders to call President Erdogan to express support after the failed coup attempt.