The New York Times :
Relations between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Biden administration may be frayed, but Wednesday the Turkish leader made abundantly clear his access to an alternative partner for trade and military deals: President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
At a three-hour meeting in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia – the first for the two presidents in more than a year – Putin and Erdogan discussed weapons deals, trade and a nuclear reactor Russia is building in Turkey.
Turkey and Russia have been both friends on energy and arms deals, and enemies in multiple Middle Eastern wars. Through mercenaries and proxies, the countries are on opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Libya, while both Turkish and Russian troops are serving as peacekeepers in the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Much of Erdogan’s diplomacy with Russia is interpreted as a bargaining position, threatening the United States by cozying up to Putin but creating distance when he is seeking something from Washington.
In an interview with New York Times editors last week on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the United Nations, Erdogan rejected suggestions that he had undermined NATO, the primary Western military alliance, by purchasing a sophisticated Russian missile system. Those S-400 missiles, arms experts say, are designed to shoot down NATO aircraft.
“We buy our own weapons,” Erdogan said, asserting that both the NATO secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, and
President Donald Trump had reaffirmed Turkey’s right to choose arms suppliers. Had the Americans sold Turkey a Patriot missile defense system, Erdogan said, he “would not have had to buy S-400s.”
Asked if Turkey’s actions had been worth the frictions caused with the United States, Erdogan appeared unapologetic. “I think it was worth it,” he said. “We can strengthen our defense as we please.”
Erdogan also said the US-Turkish relationship remained fundamentally important. “Turkey has long US ties,” he said. “This will be reinforced and has to be protected.”
On Wednesday, the Turkish leader used the meeting with Putin as a platform for praising the military deals with Russia. The cooperation has gone far enough, he said with Putin by his side, adding that “there is no path back in this sphere.”
The deal for the S-400 set off alarms in Washington, which subsequently canceled Turkey’s purchase of next-generation F-35 warplanes in 2019 and the following year imposed economic and travel sanctions. Nevertheless, Erdogan has reinforced his intention to purchase a second batch of the S-400s.
Highlighting the fallout with the United States, not the geopolitical standoffs, seemed to take precedence Wednesday for both leaders. In the public portion of their meeting, Putin, whose overarching foreign policy goal is to undermine NATO and the European Union, only briefly mentioned “cooperation” in the three conflicts in which Turkey and Russia are on opposing sides.
Erdogan often explains the relationship with Russia as necessary for a regional power such as Turkey and has questioned why the United States should dictate Turkey’s bilateral relationships. Russia is building Turkey’s first nuclear power station and opened a gas pipeline to Turkey under the Black Sea.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Putin praised both energy deals and said the alignment with Russia was insulating Turkey from high gas prices in Europe. “Now, when we see somewhat difficult, turbulent processes on the European gas market, Turkey feels absolutely confident and stable,” Putin said.
Despite Putin’s remarks, natural gas prices have soared on global markets, not just in Europe, and it is not clear that any arrangements with Russia will give Erdogan the relief he was seeking and badly needs.
The meeting came amid signs that Syria and Russia are preparing a new offensive against Turkish-backed rebels in Idlib, the last rebel-held region of Syria, after an 18-month truce. And in Libya, Turkey deployed hundreds of soldiers and Syrian militants to prop up the Government of National Accord, while a Russian mercenary group, Wagner, backed the opposing side led by Khalifa Hifter.
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, Erdogan stressed that peace in Syria was of the greatest importance among the issues between them, emphasizing that he wanted to discuss not only the immediate situation in Idlib, but also to find a way to end the war overall.
Nearly 4 million people are living in the remaining rebel-held part of Idlib, and Erdogan is particularly concerned to prevent an offensive that would send a wave of displaced Syrians toward the border. Turkey is already host to 4 million refugees, the majority of them Syrians, and the popular mood, amid an economic downturn with high unemployment and inflation, has turned against them.
