Why Did Putin and Erdogan Suddenly Start Publicly Praising Each Other?

As anticipated, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's statement during his year-end press conference that “Erdogan is a man of his word.” In reply, Erdogan praised Putin, calling him an “honest man,” as noted in an article published on Regnum by Stanislav Tarasov.

In fact, the personal relationships between leaders of different states are not surprising; they reflect the relations between those countries. However, this is not always the case. The personal relationships of state leaders are complex, unique phenomena. Each state naturally has its own national interests and certain contradictions with other states. Nonetheless, the interests and contradictions of Turkish and Russian societies are often associated with the personalities of their leaders.

Putin has been leading Russia for 21 years, while Erdogan has been in power in Turkey for 18 years. Both leaders have opened the doors of their countries to each other and have begun to decisively break the stereotypes established through endless wars from the 18th and 19th centuries. Although historians certainly know that there have been times when the Russian and Ottoman empires pursued a “parallel-confrontation” path, engaging not only in battles but also in active cooperation, the current rapprochement between the two countries has occurred against the backdrop of the war in Syria.

According to Tarasov, the “Astana trio” led by Turkey, Russia, and Iran has been created, which can resolve regional issues without the participation of the U.S. and the European Union. Moreover, the understanding of common goals allows Putin and Erdogan to find solutions in Syria, and the experience gained there can also be brought to Nagorno-Karabakh.

The author notes that the improvement of Russian-Turkish relations has been linked to the U.S. reactions and pressures regarding Turkey's acquisition of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, the election of Democrat Joe Biden as U.S. President, and Biden's tough rhetoric against Russia. Thus, realizing that the untapped potential for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries is so great that they can reach an agreement on contentious issues without harming national interests, Russia and Turkey are beginning to move in that direction.

At the same time, Turkey, for various objective reasons, will continue to address its security issues in collaboration with the U.S. and other Western NATO partners for some time. However, its geopolitical pivot away from the U.S. and the EU is already taking place, as Turkey no longer views Russia as a “historical threat.” Ankara's perception of Washington's role as a “security umbrella” will change or fade away through certain geopolitical combinations in a broader geographic context.

This is why Putin and Erdogan, despite obvious contradictions, have decided to publicly praise each other, showing that competition does not exclude cooperation. This is a style of relations conditioned by the new realities of the international system that Moscow and Ankara have adapted to in light of the recent crises that open new opportunities for them to protect their national interests. The stakes are rising day by day, just as the balance of power shifts along the borders of Europe and Asia, concludes the article.