“Russia has become the No. 1 partner of Iraqi Kurdistan,” said Aydin Selcen, a former senior Turkish diplomat, pointing to lucrative deals between Iraqi Kurds and the Russian state-owned oil firm Rosneft. “Rosneft boss, Mr. Igor Sechin, is one of the closest allies to Putin and the (Iraqi Kurds)."This is a difficult move for Erdogan. Turks and Kurds have been at war for 3000 years, and Erdogan has been using that war to divide his opposition. Turks and Slavs have been at war for 300 years. Breaking two long-standing habits is hard, but Erdogan seems to have realized that survival and prosperity are more important.
Analysts said Thursday’s meeting, and the images of two leaders getting along, suit the current agendas of both men. "This is a pragmatic and transactional relationship which we see,” Ulgen said, “but with a political underpinning, where both leaders Putin and Erdogan are almost instrumentalizing this relationship, to demonstrate and to make a point to the West.”
Labels: Zero Problems
The current icon shows Polistra using a Personal Equation Machine.