Putin's postponement: Unusual demands delay Turkish visit
The Middle East Eye portal reports that Vladimir Putin's visit to Turkey is being postponed due to his unusual demands. The Russian leader wants his plane to be escorted by Russian fighter jets, among other things. According to the service, he may be afraid of being shot down by Ukrainians.
The service emphasised that Putin has postponed several official visits to Turkey since last year. Government representatives explained this, among other things, by stating that after starting the war against Ukraine, Putin avoided countries outside the territory of the former USSR. However, sources close to the matter told the Middle East Eye portal that Russian demands are the main reason for postponing the visit to Turkey.
A NATO member, Putin would like to fly to Turkey, escorted by Russian fighter jets. The requirement may be due to fear of the plane being shot down en route by Ukrainians.
The arrival of Russian fighter jets and their possible landing on Turkish territory is complicated, as NATO's air defence systems in Turkey could consider the units hostile targets. One source assessed that Turkey is not inclined to disable the systems to accommodate Putin. Former Turkish ambassadors admitted in an interview with the portal that the Russian demands are very unusual.
The Russian side also complained that the three main hotels in Ankara where Putin might be accommodated are American-owned and, therefore, not safe.
The parties are discussing a possible Putin visit in the first week of October, but Russian demands make the arrival unlikely. Putin was previously in Ankara in 2014.
Jet escort? "I cannot recall any visit where the foreign heads of state would like to bring over his or her country’s fighter jets along"
According to former Turkish diplomats who worked with the diplomatic protocol for organising foreign heads of state visits for years, Vladimir Putin's request is bizarre.
- The Turkish government may send fighter jets to escort foreign heads of states as a gesture. 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 - a Middle East Eye source explained.
Already in mid-June, "Agentstvo" reported that Putin's plane was accompanied by a Su-30SM fighter jet, as is supposed to happen during foreign flights.
In December last year, the Russian Ministry of Defence even published a video showing Su-35 fighter jets accompanying the presidential plane during the head of state's visit to the United Arab Emirates. Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said this was done for security reasons.
The already high-security measures used by Vladimir Putin were significantly strengthened after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In early June, two Russian officials and a source close to the Kremlin told reporters from The Moscow Times portal that, on the orders of intelligence services, he started wearing a bulletproof vest during public outdoor events.
