Turkish officials have announced that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks on Wednesday addressing the renewed violence in northwest Syria and the potential expansion of Russian military defense sales to Ankara. Putin will host Erdoğan at his resort in Sochi on the Black Sea, where Erdoğan will press for a return to the ceasefire agreed upon last year to end the assault by Russian and Syrian forces on Turkey-backed fighters in Syria's Idlib province. The ceasefire has prevented another major military escalation, but opposition fighters claim that Russia has intensified airstrikes around Idlib over the past week.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar told reporters, "We are committed to the principles of the agreement we reached with Russia." He added, "We expect the other side to also fulfill its responsibilities under the agreement." The Russian Defense Ministry stated that work continues to implement the previously reached Russian-Turkish agreement on Syria, including organizing patrols from both sides involving Russian military police. It reported heavy shelling from Islamist fighters in the Idlib area. Russia maintains that its forces are in Syria at the official request of President Bashar al-Assad and that the presence of other forces is an obstacle to the reunification and rebuilding of the war-torn state.
Turkey has thousands of soldiers in northern Syria and supports opposition fighters against Assad, who have been pushed with Moscow's help into a small pocket of land along the Turkish border. In March, Turkish ground and air forces halted an offensive by Russian and Syrian troops that displaced a million people and brought Ankara and Moscow close to direct confrontation, threatening another wave of migrants to Turkey, which hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees.
Three Turkish officials noted that the primary focus of the Sochi talks will be on Syria. Erdoğan mentioned that part of the discussions would take place between him and the Russian leader without the presence of delegates from both countries. A Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "This means that the most sensitive issues will be discussed in the most open manner." He added, "Some decisive decisions may need to be made, especially in light of developments in Syria."
**Missile Defense**
The Kremlin stated that the leaders will discuss Syria, Afghanistan, as well as economic relations and regional issues. Turkey and Russia have established close cooperation in energy, tourism, and defense sectors despite their disagreements over Syria, Libya, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey, a NATO member, purchased Russian S-400 missile defense batteries in 2019, which led to sanctions on its defense industries from Washington, which warned of further actions against Ankara if it procured more Russian military equipment. Erdoğan indicated last week that Turkey still intends to acquire a second batch of S-400 missiles, asserting that no country can impose its decisions on Ankara. Officials stated that the S-400s will be discussed in Sochi.
