Politics
Turkey Crisis Tests Putin's Powers in Global Game With U.S.
- Russia cautious amid divisions between U.S. and Turkey
- Erdogan warns U.S. he may seek new allies as Putin ties grow
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Turkey’s political conflict with the U.S. and the crisis engulfing its currency offer a golden opportunity for Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to pry a key geopolitical swing state away from its western allies. It may not be that simple.
While Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have repaired relations that plunged into crisis when Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in 2015, the Kremlin leader can offer little to ease Ankara’s economic pain or to persuade the owner of NATO’s second-largest army to abandon the military alliance for closer ties with Moscow.