Русский
Vladimir Putin has met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkiye at the BRICS Summit in Kazan.
This is what they had to say:
Putin:
“Once again, I would like to welcome everyone to Kazan and to repeat how much I appreciate it that you have accepted the invitation to attend the BRICS Plus/Outreach meeting. I know that Turkiye is interested in establishing closer cooperation with the group, and we see great opportunities here, given your country’s international influence and unique geopolitical role to connect the eastern and western parts of Eurasia.
Russian-Turkish relations are of a good-neighbourly and constructive nature, rooted in a long-standing history of partnership across a wide range of areas. You and I maintain a regular dialogue on current issues on both bilateral and international agendas. I highly value these consistently beneficial interactions. I am confident that our conversation today will be both fruitful and useful.
Naturally, we will discuss ways to enhance trade and economic cooperation, which has been developing very steadily year by year. For instance, last year, the volume of trade was an impressive US$55.4 billion and from January to August this year, this figure rose by a further 6.2%.
We have accumulated a substantial volume of cross-investments: Russian companies are implementing major projects in such sectors of the Turkish economy as metallurgy and the automotive industry. Turkish business is prominently represented in machine-building, metallurgy, and woodworking, with the most of your investments and investment projects concentrated here, in Tatarstan, where we are today.
Strategically significant ties have been established in the energy sector. Russia is a reliable, time-tested supplier of natural gas to Türkiye. Last year, 20.5 billion cubic metres were exported through the Blue Stream and Turkish Stream pipelines.
Preparations are ongoing for the implementation of our initiative to create an international gas hub in Türkiye. I am confident that it will significantly enhance regional energy security, primarily through more balanced pricing mechanisms.
The flagship joint project is the construction of Akkuyu, Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant. Work is being conducted simultaneously on all four power units around the clock. We anticipate that as early as next year, the plant will begin supplying electricity to the energy system of Türkiye, as you have stated, and as you have tasked the constructors.
Tourism has traditionally held a special place in our bilateral relations. In 2023, a record 6.3 million Russian tourists visited Turkiye, up 20.7% on the year. From January to August this year, over 4.5 million people visited Turkiye, an increase of 4.6%. Russia ranks first in Turkiye in this regard.
Close cooperation between our respective rescue services is particularly notable. At your request, we also took part is suppressing wildfires in Turkiye and used our aviation in the process.
Without a doubt, your participation in this event will convey the weighty role Turkiye plays in addressing pressing global issues. Tragic developments in the Middle East are the most pressing item on the international agenda. Russia’s and Turkiye’s principled positions on these matters are very close, and we both believe that a lasting political and diplomatic settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict can only be based on the universally recognised two-state solution approved by the UN Security Council.
As usual, we will discuss regional issues that are of special importance to our countries, including the Syrian peace process and normalisation of the situation in the South Caucasus. Of course, I am ready to inform you about the situation surrounding the Ukrainian crisis.”
Erdogan:
“Mr President, my dear friend,
Thank you for inviting me to the BRICS Summit in expanded format. It is a great pleasure for me to see you again after our meeting in Astana.
Your Foreign Minister was in Istanbul last Friday as part of the 3+3 Regional Cooperation Platform. We hope to see you also in our country soon.
Efforts to resolve issues in banking transactions between our countries are underway. In this regard, our respective treasuries and finance ministries as well as our central banks, continue to collaborate. Our ministers of trade are also working on it.”
Analysis & Implications
Turkiye has formally applied to join BRICS as a full member, and it is significant in Putin’s BRICS expansion tactics that the Kazan summit is being held in what is the ethnically Turkic, yet Russian Republic of Tatarstan, which has ties going back to Turkiye for thousands of years. Yet Turkiye remains somewhat conflicted. It is a member of NATO, has close ties to Europe and will be wary of committing itself immediately to a bloc that in some Western eyes, is considered competitive if not outwardly confrontational. Should Turkiye join, there will be immediate political blow back and Erdogan is well aware of what this could mean. The country therefore is at a crossroads, and Erdogan may well take his time to ponder his next geopolitical move. It will be a measure of Turkish dissatisfaction both with the EU and with NATO as to how fast – or slow – such a decision is taken.
That said, Turkiye is a regional power and Erdogan knows it. Putin accurately described Turkiye as a bridge between East and West, while Erdogan must maintain a balance between both. Neither are relations between Moscow and Ankara always especially warm – ambitions of both as regards the future of Syria and Iraq do not always match. There is mutual respect, but no ‘special relationship’ between the two countries. Traditionally, significant corporate vested interests in Turkiye have pointed towards Europe, and the countries boardrooms need to evolve to accept that looking East may be a better option.
Trade, therefore, and cultural exchanges are becoming key in this Bosphorus dance. And here, new, mutually beneficial alliances are starting to be drawn. Putin mentioned the Blue Stream and Turkish Stream pipelines. The Blue Stream is a direct link between Russia and Turkiye, the Turkish stream a direct route between Turkiye and Europe. This means that while EU politicians claim they do not wish to buy Russian gas, in fact Turkiye acts as the middleman between the two. It is the twisted mirror of EU politics that says that energy is not being sourced ‘directly’ from Russia. The cost to the European consumer, given Turkiye now acts as a middleman, is increased. But that is neither a concern for either Moscow nor Ankara: it is not their problem. It is also representative perhaps of this new Turkish role – a bridge between Europe and Asia – and taking a cut both ends.
Russia has also suggested it is prepared to invest in Turkiye – principally its Azov and Black Sea regions – to develop Russia-Turkish logistics hubs to reach out to other markets.
Cultural ties are also growing, with the Turkish population becoming increasingly used to Russian tourists, a soft power issue that also helps develop ties. Russian tourists, now unwelcome in Europe, have become the largest source of inbound tourism for Turkiye and an important revenue stream for the country.
Naturally, there has been Western interference. Washington threatened Ankara with financial sanctions after Turkiye had agreed to accept Russia’s MIR card system in the country. As a result, the service was suspended, meaning that US sanctions effectively applied to Russian tourists, and cut off Turkish businesses from Russian expenditure. It hasn’t stopped the tourist flows however, as Russians simply bring cash. It has also created another wave of mistrust between both Turkiye and the United States and the average Russian wanting to go on vacation and now forced to carry banknotes. It has also resulted in a huge, and competitive, Rubles-Lira black market. This is why Erdogan stated he wished to resolve the financial sanctions issue and had bought teams of Turkish bankers to discuss these problems and find solutions.
The path ahead for Turkiye is quite clear, yet politically the country remains unsure. BRICS partner status may be a compromise as Erdogan, Ankara, and Turkiye’s embedded corporates determine how Western, and how Eastern, the future of the country is going to be. There will need to be an internal, collective recognition of the need to adapt.
Further Reading
Russia-Turkiye 2024 Relations: BRICS, Black Sea and US$100 Billion Trade Discussions
