Russia and Turkey strengthen ties amid ongoing conflict in Ukraine
It was concerning news from Russia. Turkish Foreign Minister - Hakan Fidan - met with Vladimir Putin. After the conversation, he assessed the current state of Russian-Turkish relations.
On Tuesday, the head of Turkish diplomacy participated as a guest in the meeting of leaders from the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in Nizhny Novgorod. Turkey is considering joining this organization.
Putin then received him. The Turkish news agency Anatolia, citing diplomatic sources, later reported that during the meeting with the Russian dictator, Fidan assessed that relations between Turkey and Russia "are excellent."
The topic of the war in Ukraine was also discussed during the conversation. The head of Turkish diplomacy assured that his country "is determined to continue all possible mediation efforts" regarding Ukraine.
The minister thus reiterated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal. The politician announced in March that he is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia.
It is not known precisely how the Russian dictator responded. Media reports only state that Putin "expressed hope to meet with the Turkish president." The leaders will meet in July at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana.
The Erdogan-Putin meeting was supposed to take place in the spring. However, it was ultimately cancelled. The Kremlin explained this by the inability to synchronize the schedules of both leaders.
During his visit to Russia, the head of Turkish diplomacy also met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. According to Reuters, the talks concerned "economic matters important to Turkey" and the war between Israel and Hamas.
Ankara maintains relations with Moscow. the West is outraged
Turkey did not sever relations with Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine. The start of a full-scale war led to the freezing of Russia's relations with the West. Meanwhile, Turkey maintains diplomatic relations not only with Russia but also with Russia in trade, tourism, and energy.
At the same time, Ankara consistently declares that it remains a committed NATO member and aspires to join the European Union.
However, Turkey has not joined the EU sanctions against Russia imposed for the war against Ukraine, although it has opposed the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity since the beginning of the invasion.
