Putin Hosts Erdogan in Room with Statues Symbolizing Turkish Defeat

On March 5, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a memorandum aimed at establishing a ceasefire in Syria's Idlib province, reports Ermenihaber.

During the meeting between Putin and Erdogan, cameras captured two statues positioned behind the leaders, which have sparked discussions on social media. The first image features a small bronze statue that symbolizes Russia's victory over the Ottoman Empire during the 1877-1878 war, titled 'The Valor of the Russian Soldier in Bulgaria' (1877-1878).

The second image depicts a bronze statue of Empress Catherine II, who inflicted devastating defeats on the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 and saw Crimea annexed to Russia during her reign.

A Turkish media outlet addressing the topic noted that they investigated Putin's meetings with various leaders in the Kremlin and found that these symbolic statues have always been present in that room. According to the source, the statues were not deliberately placed in the hall nor carry a special message directed at Turkey; they have also appeared in meetings with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.