Should the West be nervous about Turkey’s close ties with Russia?
Ankara and Moscow are shoring up their cooperation as Russia faces isolation and sanctions.
Russia and Turkey are reported to have agreed on the delivery of a second batch of S-400 missiles.
Turkey’s decision in 2017 to purchase the Russian air defence system was a sign of a deepening pragmatic – yet complicated – relationship between Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.
Ankara continues to play what it calls a “balancing act” between Russia on one side, and NATO on the other.
But this doesn’t sit well with western countries.
They’ve threatened to impose sanctions if Turkey continues to help Russia evade sanctions over its war on Ukraine.
So as it wages war in Ukraine, how will Russia benefit from the partnership?
Presenter: Kim Vinnell
Guests:
Maximilian Hess – Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and an expert in Eurasian affairs
Liudmila Samarskaia – Specialist in the contemporary history of the Middle East and a research fellow at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations
Sinan Ulgen – Former Turkish diplomat and director of Edam, a think-tank that focuses on Turkey’s foreign, security, economic and digital policy