Putin, Erdogan meet to mend strained tiesSAINT PETERSBURG: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan jets into Russia on Tuesday for his first meeting with counterpart Vladimir Putin since the two strongmen leaders began healing a bitter feud over Ankara’s downing of a Russian warplane. “Russian is a main, key and very important player in establishing peace in Syria,” Erdogan said in comments translated into Russian. Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to phone Erdogan offering support and, unsurprisingly, sharing none of the scruples of European Union leaders about the ensuing crackdown. Erdogan’s visit to Putin’s hometown of Saint Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow over Turkey’s relations with the West. But after such a bitter dispute — which saw Putin accuse Erdogan of stabbing Russia in the back and having links to the illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group — it will take a lot for the pair to reheat ties.

Source: Manila Times August 09, 2016 09:22 UTC