Whenever I think about Turkish-Russian relations I think of this painting:
That's "
Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks" by Repin, hanging in the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.
As
the story goes, in 1676 the Turkish Sultan, despite being beaten by the Cossacks when he tried to invade what is now southern Ukraine, demanded these guys surrender and submit to Turkish rule.
As can be seen, the Cossacks thought this was the funniest thing they had ever heard and wrote a letter in response.
A very profane, very defiant, very vulgar,
very contemptuous letter.
These old boys just cracked themselves up with their letter.
And that's what I think of when I think of Russians and Turks.
From al-Monitor:
After Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet along the Syrian border on Nov. 24, 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of “serious consequences
for Russia's relationship with Turkey.” He described the incident as a
“stab in the back,” sending a message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan that he saw the downing of the plane as a betrayal. Russia soon
slapped economic sanctions on Turkey, and the $38 billion trade volume
between the two countries began to shrink. Turkey was seriously hurt, as
many sectors of its economy ran into a wall.
Seven months later, on June 27, 2016, Erdogan sent a letter of
apology to Putin, setting off the normalization process that would bring
the two leaders together in St. Petersburg on Aug. 9. Because the
meeting opened a new chapter in bilateral ties, the way in which the two
leaders
addressed each other escaped
no one's attention. While Erdogan repeatedly called Putin “my dear
friend” and an “esteemed statesman,” Putin responded only with “Mr.
Erdogan.” Similarly, the Turkish leader pledged to “rapidly take
relations back to their level before Nov. 24, 2015, and even further,”
while Putin said that restoring ties to their pre-crisis level “will
take time.”
In remarks to Germany’s ARD television network, Sergei Stepashin,
a former head of Russia’s Federal Security Service and a Putin
confidant, described the Russian president as someone who “
never forgives those who deceive, betray or insult him even once.” In addition, according to retired Turkish Adm.
Turker Erturk,
former commander of the Naval Military School, Putin still distrusts
Erdogan. “Those who apologize easily betray easily. Putin knows that,”
Erturk opined in an article on his personal blog.
Since Turkey's apology, Erdogan and Putin have met three times, and
agreements have been signed to restore economic ties. Despite this,
little has changed.
In a gesture to Moscow, Ankara accorded it
“strategic investment” status
for the $22 billion nuclear plant that the Russians are building in
Turkey, a privilege that entitles the project to incentives and
financial supports worth billions of dollars. Then, in the presence of
Putin and Erdogan on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress in
Istanbul, the two countries' energy ministers
signed an accord for the construction of the $12.5 billion
Turkish Stream gas pipeline....
MORE
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Does Turkey have upper hand in EU membership battle?
