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| The Grand Turk | |
| Erdogan on a hot frying pan: no need to deceive Putin | |
| 2023-08-23 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Irina Alksnis [RIA] The activity of the Turkish side is gaining momentum just by leaps and bounds. Official statements and insiders follow from Ankara in a continuous stream. More recent. Most recent: According to Turkish media, President Erdogan will visit Russia in the coming days for talks with his Russian counterpart. The reason is the need to resume the grain deal. And judging by the huge efforts made by the Turks in this direction, this is a fundamentally important issue for them. True, this is bad luck: there is practically no reaction from Russia, and all these subtle hints, transparent messages and even direct proposals are wasted by Moscow's ignorance. And Recep Tayyip Erdogan has no one to blame for this state of affairs, except himself. He did everything in his power to bring the situation to its current state.
The grain deal was unprofitable for Russia, since the West did not fulfill the conditions for Moscow's participation in the agreement. There were several reasons why the Russian side nevertheless repeatedly agreed to its extension, and one of them was the desire to support Erdogan in a very difficult election campaign for him. Many claims can be made against the Turkish leader, but a leader pursuing a sovereign policy is in any case better than a puppet of Washington. Erdogan was successfully re-elected in May. The grain deal expired on July 17, but already two or three weeks before that date, it became clear that this time Moscow would not agree to a further extension without fulfilling its obligations to it. And on July 8, Erdogan handed over to Ukraine the commanders of "Azov", who - on his personal guarantee - were to be in Turkey until the end of the conflict. At that time, it was immediately suggested that the Turkish leader, realizing that the grain corridor was closing, "inserted a hairpin" in Moscow in advance, thereby violating his given word. The scandal in Russia, as everyone remembers, rose then notable, the country's leadership fell on the most harsh accusations. Moreover, Erdogan splashed gasoline on the fire with his comments, which sounded almost insulting. For example, he said that he would discuss this topic with Putin in August, when he visits Turkey. It looked like he was calling the Russian president to his carpet. However, as always with Putin, one should not jump to conclusions. August has almost passed, and it dawned on the Turkish side that Putin would not come after all. A few days ago, unofficial information appeared from Ankara that the Russian leader might arrive in September, but, obviously, they made it clear from Moscow that this should not be counted on either. And now the Turkish side is probing the possibility of a visit by Erdogan himself to Russia. And judging by the feverish activity, the Turks are very hot. Recep Tayyip Erdogan is an outstanding leader who demonstrates a phenomenal talent for maneuvering in the turbulent waters of world politics, successfully negotiating benefits and opportunities for his country. But this turns out to be, perhaps, his greatest vulnerability: being able to brilliantly use emerging opportunities for momentary tactical success, he loses sight of the strategic perspective. Well, yes, a month and a half ago, Erdogan planted a pig on the Russian leadership and Putin personally, releasing the Azovites, and thereby violated his obligations. And the fact that the Russian president is extremely sensitive to the issue of keeping this word is very well known. As a result, just a month and a half later, the pleasure of the trip put by Russia disappeared into the air, but now the Turks are faced with the question of a blank wall against which Ankara rests when interacting with Moscow. Now everyone will be able to watch with interest how Turkey will break it. | |
| Posted by:badanov |