Tomorrow in Sochi, during the session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, a meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey will be held, at which they will discuss the Syrian settlement and problems of development of Russian-Turkish ties. The Presidents of Russia and Turkey agreed to intensify international cooperation in the fight against terrorism during a telephone conversation yesterday. Vladimir Putin told Recep Tayyip Erdogan that his letter created the preconditions to turn the page of crisis in bilateral relations and begin the process of resumption of joint work on international and regional problems, as well as on the development of the entire range of Russian-Turkish relations.
Putin promised to start negotiations with Turkish departments to restore cooperation in trade, economic and other fields, as well as to remove restrictive measures on the Russian tourist flow.
Putin and Erdogan agreed to consider the possibility of holding a personal meeting in the near future. Immediately after that, Turkish media reported that a meeting may take place in the framework of the 'G-20' summit on September 4-5 in China, but the Turkish Foreign Ministry later informed that they believe that it is too early to talk about the exact date and place of the meeting.
One of the main problems in the relations between Moscow and Ankara is still the Syrian problem. As the head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexey Pushkov explained, it is difficult to overcome these disputes quickly.
He stressed that Turkey has turned from a pretty safe country to a dangerous one from the point of view of the terrorist threat. The terrorist attacks in Ankara and Istanbul should make the Turkish leadership think about their causes. Pushkov recalled that at one time, Vladimir Putin, while speaking in the UN, stated that it is impossible to expect that certain countries will use terrorism for their own benefit, but won't be targeted by these terrorist organizations in response. "There is an illusion that terrorists should be used in some sort of geopolitical combinations. They have their own agenda. And since Daesh claims responsibility for the recent terrorist attacks in Turkey, this is more proof of the president's words. It is impossible to flirt with terrorists, because even if they play your game today, tomorrow they will play against you."
The Turkish leadership has a tendency to fight using different approaches, including in relation to Daesh, but in the face of this organization's threat to Europe (France, Belgium and Turkey have already experienced it), Ankara can make adjustments to its policy. "If such adjustments will be made, then it will certainly create the best conditions for possible cooperation between our countries," Pushkov thinks.
