De topontmoeting van Erdogan (Turkije) met Putin (Rusland) had resultaten die men bij NATO in Brussel niet fijn zal vinden. Turkije beweegt zich weg van NATO, richting Rusland.

Er ging heel wat over tafel dat men in het NATO-hoofdkwartier met argusogen zal bekijken. Belangrijk daarbij is de Russische verzekering dat de Turkse energievoorziening via Turkstream gegarandeerd is.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Turkey is shielded from a gas crisis that has gripped Europe, thanks to the TurkStream gas pipeline.
Speaking at the start of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin also thanked the Turkish president for his support of the pipeline, which stretches from Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea.

Putin toont hiermee het soort houding dat landen hebben tegenover gewaardeerde bondgenoten. Erdogan antwoordde op gelijke wijze, met de aankondiging meer defensieprojecten samen met Rusland te zullen ondernemen:

Turkey is considering more joint steps with Russia in the defense industry, including for fighter jets and submarines, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday, a day after meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
Talks with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi focused on steps that would deepen defense cooperation between Turkey and Russia, including partnerships for aircraft engines, fighter jets and submarines, Erdoğan told journalists onboard the presidential plane.

De vraag van defensie tegen wie? komt boven. Erdogan heeft al eens uit zijn mond laten vallen dat de oplopende spanningen versus de USA nog wel eens een militair conflict tot gevolg kunnen hebben. Deze opbloeiende romance met Rusland lijkt daar op voort te bouwen Dat blijkt ook uit Erdogan’s reacties op Amerikaanse journalistieke vragen over de aankoop va de S400, vorig jaar:

Turkey’s purchase of a Russian-made air defense system was worth the friction with the United States, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has also vowed there is no stepping back in defense cooperation with Moscow.
“I think it was worth it,” Erdoğan said when asked by editors of The New York Times whether Ankara’s actions had been worth tensions with Washington.
“We can strengthen our defense as we please,” the president told the editors he had received on the sidelines of his last week’s trip to the U.S.

Letterlijk:

“We can strengthen our defense as we please,” the president told the editors he had received on the sidelines of his last week’s trip to the U.S.
Erdoğan reiterated that Ankara has not undermined NATO or the Western alliance by purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defense missile system.

Daar denkt men echter zowel in Washington als in Brussel radicaal anders over. Een sentiment dat ook elders in de regio zo gevoeld wordt. Oekraïne zocht op het jaarlijkse VN-circus de steun van Turkije over gevangenen in de burgeroorlog in Oost-Oekraïne:

Speaking at a news conference, Dmytro Kuleba recalled that Zelenskyy and Erdoğan held one-on-one and delegation-level talks in New York, where they attended the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Kuleba said that during the meeting, Zelenskyy handed Erdoğan a list of 450 Ukrainian detainees, including Nariman Dzhelyal, the deputy head of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly.
In response to Russia’s latest attempt of repression against Crimean Tatars, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said last month that Ankara is closely following the detention of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly’s deputy chairperson by Russian forces with “concern.”

Curieuze stap, is toch wel het minste dat je er van zeggen kunt. Beide leiders waren na afloop van de besprekingen in Sochi positief gestemd:

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday hailed their three-hour meeting in Sochi to discuss the Syrian conflict, describing the exchange as “useful” and “productive.”
It was the two leaders’ first face-to-face talks in 18 months. The Russian leader hosted Erdoğan at his Black Sea residence in the resort of Sochi after two weeks in self-isolation following a Corona-virus outbreak among his aides.
The two men, who did not address reporters after the talks, had been expected to discuss northwestern Syria where Assad regime troops and Moscow have ratcheted up airstrikes in recent weeks.
In a warm post-negotiation exchange, that included a discussion of their coronavirus antibody levels, Putin thanked Erdoğan, calling the visit “useful and informative.”
“We will be in touch,” he added.
Writing on Twitter, Erdoğan called the talks “productive.”

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