Vladimir Putin has met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks that are expected to focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine and are rumored to include the Kremlin’s efforts to circumvent Western sanctions.
Putin welcomed the Turkish president to the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, thanking him for helping to secure an international deal that resumed Ukraine’s grain exports that had been disrupted by the Kremlin’s war machine , as well as food and Russian products. fertilizers – on world markets.
The deal ended a standoff that had threatened a global food crisis, as Ukraine and Russia are some of the world’s biggest grain exporters. Three other ships carrying almost 60,000 tonnes of grain between them left Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Friday and are headed for Britain, Ireland and Turkey respectively.
“This is a very urgent problem for many countries, first of all, developing countries that are on the verge of big problems with the supply of food and fertilizers. Decisions made with your direct participation are very important for all these countries,” Putin told Erdogan as their closed-door meetings began.
But reports have warned that the meeting may serve another purpose. A Ukrainian government report described by the Washington Post said Putin would seek Russian stakes in Turkish oil refineries, terminals and storage facilities to help disguise the source of Russian oil exports ahead of a planned EU oil embargo . The newspaper also reported that Russia could seek correspondent accounts for major Russian banks to evade financial sanctions.
The Russian government did not confirm the report and there was no indication that Turkey would heed the proposals, which would put the NATO member at considerable risk of secondary sanctions.
At least publicly, economic cooperation led the agenda of the talks. Putin noted that the TurkStream pipeline had continued to operate “without problems … in contrast to all other routes that supplied our hydrocarbons.” Erdogan floated plans to build a nuclear power plant with Russian help.
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But tensions between the two countries and their leaders remain considerable. Turkey is a member of NATO, has sold advanced weaponry such as Bayraktar drones to Ukraine and is at odds with Russia over the future of Syria, where the Kremlin has backed Bashar al-Assad while Turkey has sought to gain influence in the country’s north. .
There were other signs that the two leaders planned to discuss more than just their economic agenda. Before the meeting began, Russian journalists noted that Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader who has sent forces under his command to both Syria and Ukraine, was in attendance.
The two men are expected to speak behind closed doors over a late lunch. They are not expected to issue a joint statement after the summit. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak is expected to address the press after the summit.