Putin's conversation with Erdogan: stabilization against the background of the threat of terrorism

29.06.2016

On June 29th, the first phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan took place after the incident with the downed Russian Su-24. This was made possible thanks to Ankara's fulfilling of a number of conditions put forward by Moscow. Both leaders agreed to a organize a meeting in the near future.

Putin's firm stance

After the incident in the sky over Syria, Russia cut all contacts with Ankara and introduced a number of restrictive measures in the economic sphere. As a result, the Turkish economy started loosing billions. Russia has put three conditions for the resumption of dialogue: Erdogan's public apology, compensation for damages, and an investigation into the crime.

The duality of the Turkish elites

Some experts suggest that the downing of the Russian Su-24 could be part of a conspiracy of the pro-American elites against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to some reports, this was done without his knowledge with the aim to destabilize Russian-Turkish relations and to provoke another conflict in the region.

Information war

A number of other factors also points to a deep rift within the Turkish elite. On June 28th, the Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkey is ready to pay compensation for the downed aircraft. However, within a few hours the world's media began to replicate the information that Ankara would not do this. Later the same evening it was announced that Turkey was ready to make the payment, if the request is sent from the Russian side. It is obvious that the Western networks of influence are doing their best to prevent a settlement between Russia and Turkey.

Act of terrorism

Just before the scheduled conversation, one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in recent memory took place in Constantinople airport. 35 people were killed, and 147 were injured. Turkish officials suspect ISIS, which Russia is fighting in Syria, organized the bombings. Some experts believe that this is some kind of message from US-Israeli intelligence - a "warning" to Erdogan about the consequences of rapprochement with Russia.

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