ISTANBUL — 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 U.S. broadcaster PBS in New York, where he is attending the U.N. 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, Turkey and the U.N. 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 fertilizer had not been honored.
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.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during their meeting at Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. The United States on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023, is sanctioning more than 150 businesses and people from Russia to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Georgia to try to crack down on evasion and deny the Kremlin access to technology, money and financial channels that fuel President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. Credit: AP/Sergei Guneyev
Speaking at an event on Monday, the Turkish leader appeared to roll back comments he…
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