Erdogan and Putin Meet in Moscow to Settle a Ceasefire
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Turkish leader Recep Erdogan in the Kremlin, amid the escalating conflict in the Idlib province, Syria.
After six hours of talks in Moscow, the heads of Russia and Turkey declared what is thought to be a deal to halt open conflict in the Syrian province. The arrangement was aimed at soothing violent clashes which almost brought two superpowers to the verge of open war.
Just hours before the armistice was announced, airstrikes in Idlib killed at least 16 displaced civilians. The perpetrators are unknown as no one took the blame for the attack. It appeared to be one of the deadliest single attacks in the renewed combat.
“We do not always agree with our Turkish partners in our assessments of what is happening in Syria, but each time at critical moments, relying on the achieved high level of bilateral relations, we have thus far managed to find common ground on the disputed issues that have arisen, and come to acceptable solutions, That’s what happened this time too,” said Vladimir Putin standing alongside his counterpart in the Kremlin.
The freshly lit conflict has broight stark setback to Putin’s planned resolutions to manipulate Erdogan to bring dissonance within the North Atlantic Alliance. Turkey being NATO’s Easternmost state, is a potential threat to Russia and Putin observantly realizes that. European and even Turkish call to accept Georgia into the Alliance will further strain the Russian influence over the region.
“Putin had kept Mr. Assad largely in line with Russian interests and managed the tensions with Turkey, maintaining Mr. Erdogan as Russia’s best hope for instilling discord in the NATO alliance.” Writes the New York Times. The American news agency also used the header “his [Putin’s] primary goal is to protect his long-term project of dividing NATO”.
Mr. Erdogan has delighted Moscow in recent years by feuding openly with Washington, more precisely refusing American weapons and using the Russian arsenal market to arm the Turkish military.
Putin’s regime has long been cautious not to make a direct attack on NATO territory, which includes Turkey. TheKremlin has rightfully and carefully abstained from attacking Turkish bases inside the Turkish territory. The Russian President has once again insisted and gambled to cut a deal with Erdogan.
“Mr. Putin has always been a professional recruiter, and his foreign policy boils down to recruiting leaders, Putin has been trying hard to recruit Erdogan and pull Turkey away from the West,” says Pavel Felgenhauer, an expert military analyst from Moscow.
“Putin is Russia’s czar and Erdogan would like to be Turkey’s sultan, but he is not. He always feels insecure and faces serious opposition in his own country. Putin is basically at ease. He is at the top of his country and far more secure than Erdogan.” Dimitry Trenin a former colonel of the Russian military intelligence said.
No one really knows how long this façade of an armistice will endure, since the 2018 ‘treaty’ between Moscow and Ankara has broken down in shatters. Although, it is progress compared to merciless drone killings and the causation of severe humanitarian crises in the hot-spot.
By Beka Alexishvili