US, NATO Likely to Give Erdogan Free Hand in Dealing With Russia

The United States and NATO have no real choice but to acquiesce in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new policy of restoring close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia, analysts told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St. Petersburg for the first talks to reset bilateral relations after the November 2015 downing of a Russian aircraft by Turkey.

"By playing in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's band without totally burning bridges to Europe and the United States, Erdogan has been given a win-win hand, but it was given to him, not created by his own initiative," Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) senior editor Jeff Steinberg said on Tuesday.

In talks with Putin in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, Erdogan apologized for the shooting down of a Russian bomber outside Turkish air space last November and the two leaders then agreed on a series of measures to boost economic and other ties.

Steinberg said Erdogan needed Russia’s support because he felt vulnerable and exposed following the failure of an attempted military coup to topple him on July 15. The US government has denied any involvement but the Turkish government has accused it of supporting the plot.

"Erdogan is weak and paranoid after the coup attempt. The shoot down of the Russian plane resulted in economic sanctions that badly damaged Turkey's economy and recent terrorist incidents, including the Chechen-led attack on Istanbul Airport badly damaged tourism revenue," Steinberg said.

However, the failure of the coup reinforced Erdogan’s determination to implement the turn towards Russia that he began just before it, Steinberg remarked.

"Putin was in Baku today meeting with [Azerbaijan President Ilham] Aliyev and [Iranian President Hassan] Rouhani to discuss the North-South economic corridor, which Turkey can be a crucial part of," Steinberg noted.

Erdogan was now in a position to benefit from restored close ties with Russia, Steinberg judged.

"He is a captive of a good process and he should enjoy the ride, while not pretending that he is the conductor. He can maneuver this situation to his ultimate advantage, but not as a fully independent actor. It is his best play at this time," Steinberg said.

Independent Institute Center on Peace and Liberty Director Ivan Eland told Sputnik that despite Erdogan’s clear embrace of Russia, the United States would passively accept that and other increasingly anti–US and anti-Western policies from him.

"The US interventionist elite consider Turkey a ‘strategic ally’ on the frontline against the Islamic State and Russia. The US thinks it needs the base at Incirlik to bomb [Daesh] in Iraq and Syria and for Turkey to close its border to Islamists going to those countries," Eland said.

Therefore the US government would continue to accept and support whatever Erdogan did, even though the Turkish leader needed an aggressive foreign policy to stay in power, Eland claimed.

US Department of State spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau said in a briefing on Tuesday that the United States is not concerned that Putin’s meeting with Erdogan might lead to a weakening of Washington’s relationship with Ankara,