Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a man who keeps his word, RussianPresident Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
Asked at his annual news conference about the most difficult negotiator hehad ever had to deal with, Putin said he did not approach the issue thisway.
“There are no good and bad ones [leaders]. There are national interests.Sometimes it’s necessary to make some compromises, other times there is aneed to insist on our position. The rest is counterproductive,” he said.
Setting his relations with Erdogan as an example, Putin said the twoleaders often disagree and even have opposite views on some issues, butErdogan for his country “goes all the way”.
“We often disagree on certain issues with President Erdogan. Maybesometimes even have opposing views. But he is a man who keeps his word. Ifhe thinks it’s good for his country, he goes all the way,” Putin stressed.
Turning to the future relations between Russia and the US under Joe Biden’sadministration, Putin said he expects to settle at least some of theexisting problems with him.
“The newly elected president of the US will understand what is happening,he is an experienced person in both domestic and foreign policy, and weexpect that all problems so far, at least some of them, will be solvedunder the new administration,” he said.
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Particularly, he recalled that Biden spoke in favor of the renewal of theStrategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires in February 2021.
“Now there is a threat of termination of the START Treaty. Then there willbe no restrictions at all related to the arms race, there will be nothingat all,” Putin said.
The first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, START I, signed in 1991 betweenthe US and the USSR, took effect in 1994.
The new START treaty, signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obamaand Russia’s ex-President Dmitry Medvedev, sets a limit of no more than1,550 deployed warheads and 700 missiles, including inspections to verifycompliance with the deal.
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