Russia and Turkey are ready for another round of dialogue. Turkish President Recep Erdogan has scheduled a visit to the Russian Federation to discuss pressing problems with his Russian counterpart.
"Indeed, a working visit of Turkish President Erdogan to the Russian Federation is being prepared … The agenda is extensive, starting with bilateral relations. This is a very multifaceted relationship, and the presidents always have something to talk about in this context. But, of course, Syria and other regional conflicts will be discussed too," Dmitry Peskov told media representatives on September 20.
The meeting is scheduled to take place in late September.
Predictably, Syria will become the main point in the negotiations between the two presidents. Russia and Turkey play an important role in the civil war in Syria, and the region still remains a stumbling block in Russian-Turkish relations. Russia supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey supports Syrian opposition, the so-called National Army.
The state of affairs in Syria have been changing dramatically lately against the background of USA's pullout from Afghanistan. The Americans may leave Syria as well, where they have obscure goals and no progress. In this regard, one will have to address the issue of the Kurds who enjoy USA's protectorate.
Sergei Markov, the director of the Institute for Political Research, said in an interview with Pravda. Ru that the Kurds are Turkey's biggest problem. It is primarily important for Ankara not to let the Kurds threaten the security of Turkey, since they are closely associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Turkey carries out its military manoeuvres in Syria mainly with the aim of combating the spread of separatist sentiments in Turkish Kurdistan.
"They would like to take control of those areas. Yet, Russia wants the Kurds to obtain some kind of autonomy so that they could be controlled by the official Syrian leadership with Bashar Assad at the head. Now we need to understand how compromise will be found," the expert said.
Undoubtedly, Putin and Erdogan will discuss the crisis in Idlib, where the main emphasis is put on de-radicalization of various groups. Turkey has finally started working in this direction, although, not fast enough, from the point of view of Russia. In Idlib, Turkey supports mainly the Turkic population.
The pressing question of how Idlib will maintain relations with Damascus also remains on the agenda, because this province is completely cut off from Syria. Idlib is excluded from political, logistic and economic processes.
Afghanistan and Libya are also in sight
Sergei Markov is confident that Afghanistan will become an equally important topic in the talks between the two presidents, taking into consideration the fact that both Russia and Turkey play an important role in this region. Russia and CSTO countries on the one hand, and Turkey and Qatar on the other hand are closely connected with First Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar.
"Now Baradar has to deal with a plethora of problems. They need to be solved so that ISIS* has no military bases on the territory of Afghanistan. The problems with women's rights also require a solution," the expert said.
Vladimir Putin and Recep Erdogan may also discuss the state of affairs in Libya, where the political process has been accelerating lately too. Egypt and Russia support some of the groups, whereas Turkey other groups, which puts Russia and Turkey on opposite sides of the barricades again.
"They share a common goal to restore the unity of Libya and form a coalition government to divide power and finally establish normal government," the expert notes.
Union of Russia and Turkey
With regard to the bilateral relations between the two states, Sergei Markov is sure that economic and global security issues will be the main topics on the agenda.
"It is clear that the Americans have failed. Perhaps they will leave. Erdogan published a book where he sets out his vision. He wrote in the book that so-called underdeveloped countries should gradually free themselves from the dependence of the West and build common projects within the framework of Putin's ideology of the multipolarity of the world. Apparently, Putin and Erdogan will talk about strategic stability of the future, how not to allow the West to abuse its influence," the expert told Pravda. Ru.