Putin, Erdogan agree on steps to mend relations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with Russia's President Vladimir Putin that the two nations can rebuild their damaged ties and make them even closer.

Calling Putin his "dear friend," Erdogan said after the meeting in St. Petersburg that Turkey is ready to implement a natural gas pipeline project with Russia and a deal to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

• Turkish president blasts foreign countries over coup reaction
• Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man Erdogan blames for coup attempt in Turkey?

Putin, in his turn, said that the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey, halted after the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey in November, will resume.

Putin added that he and Erdogan will have a separate discussion on Syria later Tuesday, involving top military and intelligence officials, to search for common ground in the crisis in which Moscow and Ankara have backed opposing sides.

Erdogan's trip to Russia comes as Turkey's relations with Europe and the United States are strained by what Ankara sees as Western concern over the coup attempt, during which more than 240 people were killed.

There is a serious anti-American feeling in Turkey.— Bekir Bozdag, Turkish justice minister

But relations with Moscow also soured recently, most notably after Turkey shot down Russia's fighter jet. 

Erdogan apologized in June, setting the stage for today's meeting, which is his first foreign visit since last month's attempted coup.

Putin has also sought to mend the rift with Turkey in the hopes of reviving key economic projects, including the much-touted pipeline, and expanding Russia's clout in Syria.

Putin said Moscow would gradually phase out sanctions against Ankara, imposed after the Turks shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border nine months ago, and that bringing ties to their pre-crisis level was the priority.

"Do we want a full-spectre restoration of relations? Yes, and we will achieve that," Putin told a joint news conference after an initial round of talks. "Life changes quickly."

Erdogan thanked Putin twice for inviting him to Russia and said the co-operation between the two countries should benefit the entire region.

Co-operation would be increased on projects including a planned $20-billion gas pipeline and a nuclear power plant to be built in Turkey by the Russians, Erdogan said, as well as between their two defence sectors.
 
"God willing, with these steps, the Moscow-Ankara axis will again be a line of trust and friendship," Erdogan said.

Pressure on U.S. 

​Erdogan has also been pressuring the U.S. to extradite Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric who is alleged to have organized the coup from his home in rural Pennsylvania, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999.

Washington's refusal has, according to Turkey's justice minister, stoked anti-American sentiment among Turks.

"There is a serious anti-American feeling in Turkey, and this is turning into hatred," Bekir Bozdag said Tuesday in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency, broadcast live on Turkish television channels. "It is in the hands of the United States to stop this anti-American feeling leading to hatred."

U.S. President Barack Obama has said Ankara must first provide clear evidence of Gulen's wrongdoing. Last week, a State Department spokesman said Washington was evaluating new documents it had received.

The 75-year-old Gulen, who built up a network of schools, charities and businesses in Turkey and abroad over decades, denies any involvement in the coup and has condemned it. He has also accused Erdogan of using the coup to amass greater powers.

Authorities have suspended, detained or put under investigation tens of thousands of people in the armed forces, the judiciary, civil service and elsewhere since the coup, in which a faction of the military commandeered warplanes, helicopters and tanks in an attempt to topple the government.

Bozdag put the number of people now formally arrested awaiting trial at 16,000, adding that a further 6,000 detainees are still being processed. Another 7,668 people are under investigation but have not been detained, he said.

• Crowds gather in Istanbul for massive anti-coup rally