Packed Agenda Features Meeting Between President Erdogan And Putin

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin arrived in Turkey on Thursday to meet Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a time of growing bilateral relations between the two nations.

The two leaders had already spoken by the phone on Monday, mainly about the de-escalation zone in Syria’s Idlib.

Idlib will be high on the agenda of Thursday’s meeting, according to the statements both by Kremlin and Turkish presidency.

The Turkish president's office announced that Erdogan and Putin would also discuss international issues as well as regional crises.

Here are five top issues the two leaders are likely to discuss.

De-escalation zones in Idlib

On May 3, Turkey, Russia and Iran struck a deal on establishing four de-escalation zones in Syria to protect civilians.

Three of them were established after the agreement but the fourth de-escalation zone in Idlib had not been implemented due to the Hayat Tahrir al Sham presence. The group is dominated by former Al Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

In mid-September, the trio finalised the deal over which country would deploy its troops to protect de-escalation zone in Idlib, at a meeting in Astana. Turkey deployed troops to its border with Syria's Idlib.

Iran, Russia and Turkey will each send 500 observers to Idlib, and the Russians will deploy military police, according to Russian negotiator in Astana, Alexander Lavrentyev.

About a week later, in an interview with Reuters, Erdogan said "Under the agreement, Russians are maintaining security outside Idlib and Turkey will maintain the security inside Idlib region."

He added that there were more details to be discussed.

However, afterwards reports of suspected Russian air strikes that caused civilian casualties came from Idlib. Russia denied that it had killed civilians.

Speaking on a private TV, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at the weekend that de-escalation zone would never be effective if anyone violates the agreement.

Erdogan and Putin are likely to discuss the details of the agreement and the violations in their meeting.

YPG in Syria’s north

Turkey last year has carried out cross-border operations against Daesh in Syria, in an attempt to prevent YPG from having more bases near its border. PYD and its armed wing YPG already control most of northern Syria.

Turkey considers the group to be an affiliate of PKK, which has been designated a terror group by Turkey, the US, and the EU. It has been fighting the Turkish state for more than 30 years.

Ankara is concerned over YPG activities in northern Syria, especially the formalising of its hold on the region.

However, the Russian-backed Syrian regime has already announced they could discuss an autonomous region in the north controlled by YPG.

"[Syrian Kurds] want a form of autonomy within the framework of the borders of the state, this is negotiable" Syrian regime foreign minister Wallid Muaellem said on Tuesday, according to SANA, the Syrian state news agency.

Turkey has repeatedly criticised its allies, the US and Russia, of supporting the YPG militarily and politically.

In July, Turkish armed forces were reportedly planning an operation with the help of the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) against the YPG in Afrin.

Russia, however, deployed troops in east Afrin to create a buffer zone between the YPG and FSA, in a move that prevented the Turkish plan.

At an Astana meeting in January, Russia submitted a draft to the Syrian opposition for a new constitution in Syria. The proposal had signs of a self-ruling system for Kurds. "The Kurdish cultural self-ruling systems and its organizations use both the Arabic and Kurdish languages equally." the document said.

The unilaterally declared self-ruling bodies of the YPG on Syria's north has also had a representative in Moscow since February.

Turkish President Erdogan will likely convey Turkey’s concerns over Russian relations with YPG.

KRG’s independence desires

The meeting between two leaders comes in the aftermath of KRG’s independence referendum in northern Iraq. The case was on their agenda in Monday’s phone conversation and will likely to be on the table on Thursday, as well.

On September 22, three days ahead of the referendum, Russia clearly stated that it is taking sides with the Iraqi central government in opposition to the referendum.

However, Moscow refrained from firmly rejecting the KRG’s referendum at the very beginning when its giant energy company Rosneft agreed to fund a natural gas pipeline in the KRG-controlled region.

Three days after the referendum, a clearer statement came from the Russian foreign ministry, saying: "Moscow respects the national aspirations of the Kurds." The statement added they support "a mutually acceptable formula of coexistence within a single Iraqi state."

S-400 missile deal

Turkey, bordering conflict zones in Iraq and Syria, has long wanted to obtain an air defense system without depending only on Western-oriented weapons sent temporarily by NATO allies.

When Ankara announced they were negotiating with Moscow on a deal, which would also include owning the technology by co-producing, NATO members expressed their concerns, saying the system might cause security breaches.

Turkey, in response to the criticism, said it first wanted to get the Western technology for producing an air defence system, but its NATO allies refused to countenance a transfer of technology, leaving no other options but to look for other choices.

"They went crazy because we made the S-400 missile agreement with Russia. What were we supposed to do, wait for you? We'll paddle our own canoe, we are taking, and will take, all our measures on the security front," Erdogan said during a speech.

Late in July, Erdogan announced that Turkey and Russia had signed the deal.

Ankara should have paid a deposit to buy Russian S-400 Triumf missile systems, Turkish President Erdogan told reporters two weeks ago.

Turkish Defense Ministry officials whom TRT World asked about the details, declined to talk about the deal, which is believed to cost between $2 billion and $3 billion.

Economic relations

Turkey and Russia have been working to boost economic ties with Russia lifting restrictions on Turkish exports and visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.

After Turkey shot down a Russian military jet over an airspace violation in November 2015, Moscow took several measures against Ankara, including banning imports of Turkish agricultural products, along with the crucial tomato, and ending visa-free travel for Turks.

Boosting economic ties will be another leading topic in the meeting between the two leaders.

Erdogan and Putin will hold a joint press conference in Ankara following their meeting.