The war in Ukraine was expected to test the relationship between Turkey and Russia. But in fact it has emerged stronger
lonely birthday for Vladimir Putin. Few important world leaders bothered to call or post greeting cards, though the president of Belarus did send him a tractor. But at least one man did not disappoint. On October 7th Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who continues to refer to Mr Putin as a “dear friend”, congratulated him on turning 70. Mr Putin in turn thanked the Turkish leader for his attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
But Turkey remains close to Russia. Their leaders meet and speak on the phone regularly. The bonhomie between them has endured wars in Syria, the Caucasus and Libya, where Turkey and Russia have managed to co-operate despite backing opposing sides. The dynamic has continued in Ukraine. These days, Mr Erdogan sounds more eager to chastise Western governments for “provoking” Russia than to condemn its atrocities in Ukraine.
Russia has also provided Turkey’s banking system with a booster shot. Over the summer Rosatom, a Russian firm, wired about $5bn to Turkey to finance a nuclear-power plant it is building on the country’s Mediterranean coast. But the rush of Russians and roubles has attracted American scrutiny. This summer an American Treasury official signalled that Russia was attempting to use Turkey to dodge Western sanctions, and warned Turkish companies against doing business with sanctioned Russians.
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