YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. Political analyst Richard Giragosian has pointed out three important factors regarding the August 9 Putin-Erdogan meeting in St. Petersburg.

According to him, the summit was less of an opportunity for a fresh rapprochement between the two governments, rather, it was a chance for reconciliation between the two presidents themselves.

“ This point is important because although the trigger for the crisis in relations was the November 2015 Turkish downing of a Russian military aircraft, the trend driving the crisis was more personal, driven by a clash of the “titanic egos” of the two individual presidents. This explains the intensity and emotion of the crisis but it also means that the crisis itself was limited, and thereby much easier to repair and restore relations,” Giragosian told ARMENPRESS.

Giragosian also finds noteworthy the timing of the reconciliation, which was perhaps also linked with the failed coup attempt.

“But the real factor driving this process of Turkish-Russian rapprochement was the Turkish president’s policy of “paying penance,” in the dispatch of a written apology to atone for the downing of the Russian aircraft. The economic impact alone, although more serious on the Turkish economy, was sweeping, and directly led to a sharp decline in trade and tourism, and suspending several large bilateral projects in the energy and construction sectors. In the energy sector alone, the crisis halted massive deals for the Russian construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey and concerning the construction of a strategic natural gas pipeline”, Richard Giragossian said.