Hot points on the agenda in Sochi between the two Russian and Turkish leaders
(Baonghean.vn) - Although Russian President Putin and his Turkish counterpart Erdogan regularly maintain contact, the upcoming exchange and negotiation in Sochi will be the first direct meeting between the two leaders since Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Initiative.
According to TASS news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Sochi on September 4 to attend talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and the Kremlin press office said the Russian leader had previously said he and the Turkish president had reached an agreement ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, but the two sides decided to postpone the meeting so as not to be seen as an attempt to influence the election results.
While Mr Putin and Mr Erdogan are in regular contact, the upcoming talks in Sochi will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Initiative.
Political context
Erdogan’s visit to Sochi will give the two leaders a chance to address issues that have arisen in their recently strained relationship. In addition, both sides are showing some displeasure. Turkish analysts say Moscow is unhappy with the warming of ties between Ankara and Washington, nor is it pleased with Turkey’s recent move to return Azov commanders (banned in Russia) to Ukrainian custody, along with Ankara’s vocal support for Kiev in the current conflict.
Türkiye, on the other hand, is frustrated by the collapse of the grain deal it brokered, as well as the fact that the Turkish parliament’s efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis have so far yielded no results. Erdogan desperately needs those results, as after Sochi he will be heading to the G20 summit in India, followed by the UN General Assembly in New York, and he needs to be on solid footing.
Tentative agenda
According to Mr. Peskov, the talks are expected to take place at midday on September 4. The Kremlin press office said: “There are plans to discuss efforts to further develop bilateral, mutually beneficial cooperation as well as urgent international issues.”
Putin and Erdogan are expected to focus most on ways to resolve the Ukraine conflict and the grain deal. Türkiye has been trying to bring Russia back into the grain initiative and says it has developed new proposals with the United Nations. Erdogan will present these to Putin and may pass on messages from allies to the Russian leader. Erdogan will also try to persuade the Russian president to consider reviving the original deal, but the chances of success are slim as Russia has taken a principled stance on the issue, insisting on clear guarantees rather than promises.
In addition to Ukraine, the two leaders will also discuss the situation in Syria. Russia has been working to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus. However, more efforts are needed on this issue before Erdogan agrees to meet with Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
