Russia Keeps Its Friends Close and Turkey Closer

Henry Kissinger reminds us that in international relations, states do not have permanent friends or enemies, only interests. That lesson reverberated Tuesday in St. Petersburg, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan let bygones be bygones with his “dear friend, the esteemed Vladimir” in an ironic (and somewhat excessive) display of diplomatic reconciliation.

Over the course of only seven months, Turkey and Russia have gone from ranking each other as public enemy No. 1 to catching up as old friends. Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem to be treating the…

Source: Russia Keeps Its Friends Close and Turkey Closer | Stratfor