Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he trusts Russia as much he trusts the West. Explaining his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan said he had failed to get him to resume the Black Sea grain deal the Kremlin withdrew from in July but had elicited a pledge for Russia to supply 1 million tons of grain to Africa.
“I have no reason not to trust them,” Erdogan said during an interview late Monday with US broadcaster PBS in New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly. “To the extent the West is reliable, Russia is equally reliable. For the last 50 years, we have been waiting at the doorstep of the EU and, at this moment in time, I trust Russia just as much as I trust the West.” Ankara has maintained close ties with both Russia and Ukraine during the 19-month war. In July last year, Turkiye and the UN engineered a deal to allow Ukrainian grain to be safely shipped from its Black Sea ports, helping alleviate a global food crisis. Moscow pulled out of the agreement two months ago, claiming a parallel deal to allow its exports of foodstuffs and fertiliser had not been honoured.
Erdogan is visiting New York four months after winning elections that extended his 20-year rule for another five years. His fresh mandate has seen signs of an improvement in Ankara’s often fractious relationship with the West. Speaking at an event on Monday, the Turkish leader appeared to roll back comments he made immediately prior to his departure for New York, in which he suggested Turkiye could end its 24-year bid for European Union membership. “We see that a window of opportunity has opened for the revitalization of Turkiye-European Union relations in a critical period,” Erdogan said, according to a text of the meeting published by his office. “We continue to emphasize the importance of revitalizing Turkiye’s EU accession process.”
Erdogan also indicated improving ties with Washington, which have recently focused on Ankara’s approval of Sweden’s NATO membership application and a possible deal to supply Turkiye with F-16 fighter jets.