Erdogan must be destroyed

On June 1, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov outlined the conditions for normalizing relations with Turkey: an apology for the downed plane, plus payment of compensation to both Russia and the family of the deceased pilot

Peskov’s statement was made in response to the bewilderment expressed a day earlier by Turkish President Erdogan: yes, he wants to restore relations with Moscow, but he does not understand what kind of “first step” they are talking about in the Kremlin, what is expected of him.

Let me remind you that Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart quarreled to the bone last fall, when Russia decided to intervene in the Syrian civil war, in which Turkey had already intervened long before. At the same time, it was clear that the problem was not in violation of the Turkish border by the Russian aircraft, but in the fact that Russia was bombing people whom Turkey supported, armed, sent volunteers to help them, etc. Sooner or later, Russia and Turkey were bound to quarrel - simply because they participated in the same war, but on different sides. True, Erdogan tried to mitigate the conflict as much as possible, declared his “regret” about the downed plane, the Turks took the deceased pilot out of Syria and handed it over to the Russian side with all honors, refused any “symmetrical responses” with a tightening of the visa regime and sanctions. The position of the Turkish Foreign Ministry is as follows: Moscow will not wait for big concessions, we will not lose face and kneel before Russia, after all, it was Russian planes that regularly flew into Turkish airspace and our Turkish answer was logical, although excessive.

However, Moscow did not soften the face-saving apologies. Through the mouth of Peskov, Erdogan was demanded more expressive repentance. At the same time, it is not at all obvious that, following repentance, Russian tourists will return to Turkey, a visa-free regime will be restored and new contracts for the supply of vegetables will be concluded.

However, experts close to the Kremlin have repeatedly stated directly: from now on, the most desirable development of events is a change of regime in Turkey. And oddly enough, Russia has a powerful ally in this matter. After all, Moscow is not the first "friend" that Erdogan's Türkiye has lost. The first was Washington.

Moscow was not softened by the apology while saving face. Erdogan demanded more expressive remorse

The Americans believed that it was Turkey that would act as a ground corps in their fight against ISIS * , but it turned out that the Turkish leader does not consider ISIS * such an important problem to get into a war that is obviously unpopular in Turkey. This is how the first crack appeared in US-Turkish relations: instead of the Turkish army, the United States involved the Kurdish militia in the war with the Islamists. Erdogan, not without reason, considered that this would lead to the strengthening of the Kurdish separatists inside Turkey, and began to strike at groups that were actually operating under American control. A paradoxical situation has arisen: Turkey, being a member of the anti-ISIS coalition under the auspices of the United States, smashed the ground forces of this very coalition. The crack turned into a rift. Barack Obama directly began to declare that he was disappointed in Erdogan ...

In Russia, on the contrary, on the basis of participation in the Syrian war, relations with the United States, which had already been completely spoiled because of Ukraine, began to improve. There was a consensus on three issues: firstly, there is a common enemy - terrorists, secondly, the problem of Assad's departure is no longer paramount, and thirdly, the region would be better off without Erdogan.

This can be summed up: Peskov’s answer to Erdogan’s question “what do you want from me?” - nothing more than diplomatic politeness. If it is discarded, only one word remains - resignation.

* "Islamic State" (IS, ISIS) is an organization banned in the Russian Federation.