Turkish – Russian leaders meet in Ankara
While Turkey-Russia relations are speedily normalizing, outstanding issues ranging from Russia’s stance on the visa regime for Turkish citizens, Russia’s natural gas discount to Turkey, along with Turkey’s tomato exports to Russia have still to be ironed out.
The meeting between Turkish and Russian presidents last week carried great significance in light of the Kurdish Regional Government's (KRG) 'unilateral referendum' held last Monday.
Both leaders voiced their support for Iraq’s sovereignty.
However, the press briefing after the meeting saw both leaders using cautious statements. Both Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the increasing cooperation between the two countries, which can be also perceived as a message to the Western world.
The solution to the Syrian crisis and the record increase in Russian tourist flow to Turkey were among the most successful results of the cooperation between the two countries. Meanwhile, the trade turnover between Russia and Turkey also increased by 31 percent in the first seven months of 2017, compared to a year earlier.
While pipeline of 300 kilometers in length has been laid already in the TurkStream natural gas project, the “promised” 10.25 discount on Russian gas supplies to Turkey has yet to be officially authorized.
Russia’s one-sided visa regime for Turkish citizens is still ongoing. Sources in Moscow claim the visa regime is anticipated for removal in 2018.
Small in size, yet big in impact, the “tomato issue” between Russia and Turkey is also continuing. However, after Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci’s recent statement, it appears that this issue is about to be resolved, and an official announcement on the removal of the ban on Turkish tomatoes is anticipated for an announcement in the upcoming days.
Both parties lack of communication on the S-400 missile defense system process is indicative of the fact that, although the issue was surely discussed behind closed doors, some progress on this matter has yet to be made.