Putin kept waiting by Erdogan ahead of bilateral talks

Vladimir Putin has been kept waiting by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of bilateral talks in Iran – two years after the Russian leader did the same.

Mr Putin was seen looking “frazzled”, according to a correspondent for Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National, as he waited around 50 seconds on his own for the Turkish strongman to join him.

Video filmed by Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu showed the Russian president standing awkwardly, and occasionally shuffling, as the camera focuses on his stern-looking face while he stands alone.

Eventually, he is seen shrugging slightly as Mr Erdogan walks towards him, smiling, before the pair shake hands as they turn to face the cameras, while Mr Putin appears to grimace.

The pair were in Iran for a series of bilateral and trilateral talks with each other and Iranian leaders, as Russia seeks to strengthen ties with Iran.

Mr Erdogan was keen to discuss grain shipments from Ukraine and security in Syria, where both Russian and Iranian forces are said to be active.

Joyce Karam, a senior correspondent for The National, commented on Twitter that it was “sweet payback for Erdogan who in 2020 was humiliated by Putin as he made him wait 2 minutes in a power game play in Russia”.

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Al Arabiya news site reported in March 2020 that a video was put out by Russian media that showed Mr Erdogan and his delegation being kept waiting by Mr Putin before a meeting.

It was only Mr Putin’s second trip abroad since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The war has resulted in no ships leaving Black Sea ports carrying Ukrainian grain, which is said to feed up to 400 million people around the world, and which has encouraged a black market in allegedly plundered Ukrainian wheat.

The World Food Programme says the resulting shortages of wheat will put 47 million more people in acute hunger if shipments are not resumed from Ukraine-held ports.

After his meetings with Mr Erdogan and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr Putin said Russia was ready to facilitate Ukrainian grain exports by the Black Sea, but also wanted the remaining curbs on Russian grain exports to be removed.

He said not all the issues had been resolved yet on grain shipments “but the fact that there is movement is already good”.

He added that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were offering to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, but Moscow did not see any desire from Ukraine to fulfil the terms of what he described as a preliminary peace deal agreed to in March.

There was no immediate response from the Ukrainian government to Mr Putin’s remarks.

Analysts said the trilateral meeting with Iranian leaders and Mr Erdogan – one of the few NATO leaders not to have imposed sanctions on Russia – was a pointed message to the West about Russian plans to forge closer strategic ties with other non-Western countries as the sanctions regime continues to bite.

During his trip, Mr Khamenei spoke of his desire for long-term cooperation between Iran and Russia, telling Mr Putin the two countries needed to stay vigilant against “Western deception”.

It comes after the White House said Russian officials visited an airfield in Iran at least twice to look at Iranian drones that are likely to be used in Ukraine.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Mr Putin’s trip to Iran showed how isolated Russia had become.

After the summit, Syria – a strong ally of Russia and Iran – said it was formally breaking diplomatic ties with Ukraine in response to a similar move by Kyiv.

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