Russian President Vladimir Putin has pushed for an escort of Russian fighter jets to accompany him to Turkey, slowing down arrangements for a possible visit within the next few weeks, according to a new report.
The Kremlin leader wants to travel with Russian fighter aircraft in a highly unusual move that could trigger NATO air defenses in Turkey, U.K.-based news website Middle East Eye reported on Tuesday. Newsweek has reached out to the Kremlin for comment.
Turkey, a long-standing NATO ally, maintains a careful and often-difficult balance between its place in the alliance and its contact with Russia. The latter has become a pariah state for many NATO countries since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two-and-a-half years ago.
“In an environment where 32 allies are together, it is unthinkable to have the same views on every issue,” Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler told POLITICO in early July.
SERGEI GUNEYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Ankara has styled itself a peacemaker, signaling support for Ukraine’s bid to join NATO while keeping lines of communication—and energy supply links—with Moscow open.
Sitting south of Ukraine, Turkey also controls access to the Black Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, blocking new warships from entering the contested area around Ukraine’s southern coastline and bases on the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Ankara has supplied the Ukrainians with Bayraktar TB2 drones, which attracted significant attention in Ukraine during the earlier months of the conflict. The Turkish manufacturer Baykar said in February that it had started construction on a new facility inside Ukraine, not far from the capital, Kyiv.
The Turkish government could send out fighter jets to meet and escort visiting heads of state, an unnamed former Turkish ambassador told Middle East Eye. “Nonetheless, I cannot recall any visit where the foreign heads of state would like to bring over his or her country’s fighter jets along.”
Another unnamed former ambassador told the outlet that there was no firm guidance on the request, making it a gray area.
However, NATO air defenses could reportedly detect the Russian fighter aircraft and categorize the jets as a threat. One anonymous source familiar with the discussions told the outlet that Ankara is not leaning toward shutting off alliance systems to indulge the fighter jet request.
A visit is tentatively planned for early October, but the unresolved issue of the Russian fighter jets makes this unlikely, according to Middle East Eye.
Separately, Russian officials have reportedly described Ankara’s largest hotels, which are U.S.-owned chains, as unsafe for the Kremlin leader.
