THE ECONOMIST
Russia and Turkey are out of the honeymoon phase
Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, heads to Moscow on Tuesday to meet Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart. Alongside trade and investment, the pair will discuss geopolitics. Mr Fidan will probably try to gauge Russia’s appetite for renewed peace negotiations with Ukraine and suggest Turkey host the next round of talks.
Mr Lavrov, meanwhile, will be eager to show that Russia’s relations with Turkey remain strong. His ministry has boasted of frequent phone calls between Russia’s dictator, Vladimir Putin, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president.
But there is increasing evidence that Turkey is cooling on Russia. In 2017, it purchased a pricey Russian missile system; in response, America slapped Turkey with sanctions. Similar deals seem inconceivable today. Turkey is also keen to capitalise on Russia’s dwindling influence elsewhere. It has recently been making overtures to Armenia, where the Western-leaning prime minister just won a parliamentary majority. No amount of phone calls can disguise that.
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