Putin Swallows Irritation at Erdogan as Syria Strains Ties
- Turkey key element in Putin’s strategic goal to counter U.S.
- Russia keen to safeguard multi-billion arms, energy deals
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When Turkey’s military waged an air and artillery blitz that slaughtered dozens of Russian-allied Syrian troops this week in retaliation for an assault that killed seven of its soldiers, Moscow offered barely a murmur of protest.
The worst tensions between Moscow and Ankara since the 2015 downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish fighter jets are testing the marriage of convenience between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan as they jostle for dominance in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean. The Kremlin’s unusually muted response also shows how the balance may have shifted in the delicate relationship between the two presidents.