President Vladimir Putin hosts visiting Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in the Kremlin on Wednesday to talk business, energy and regional power politics.
Projects by construction company Enka, such as Moscow’s distinctive Turkish-built steel and glass towers of Naberezhnaya, the second tallest skyscraper in Russia, underscore Erdogan's signature mix of business and politics that has expanded Turkey's presence in the Middle East, Africa and former Soviet Union, where Russia still jealously guards its interests.
"Turkey today is much more assertive and independent than it was 20 years ago. It wants to be not only a part of NATO and American-led alliances, but also an independent player in the whole area," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of the journal Russia in Global Affairs.
But Turkey's regional aspirations in areas where Moscow is sensitive to its waning influence have complicated an already intricate relationship in which cooperation in trade and energy politics is set off by conflicting regional foreign policies.
"Turkey and Russia resemble each other; they have the same claims. Psychologically, Putin and Erdogan understand each other quite well, but at the same time all their interests do not coincide. For example, we see that in the Middle East."
Almost a year after the death of Russian ally Muammar Gadaffi in Libya, Moscow and Ankara are at diplomatic loggerheads over the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Once photographed with Assad and his family at a vacation resort before anti-government uprisings demanding his departure, Erdogan has since turned his back on the former ally, calling for his removal and hosting Syrian rebel fighters on its soil.
Turkey's ire was raised last month when Syria, recipient of Russian air defence systems, downed a fighter jet that it claimed was in its airspace. The incident forced Ankara to call on the other member states of NATO for consultations over what it called an "act of aggression".
Putin however, fearing a replay of the Libyan scenario, has continued sending Assad arms and has protected him from harsher sanctions at the U.N. Security Council.
Moscow would be loath to see its last stronghold in the Middle East fall – especially one that hosts a small naval maintenance and repair facility, Russia's only naval base outside of the former Soviet Union.
CAUCUSES LOYALTIES
Russia and Turkey are also aware of their differences in the South Caucasus region where their respective loyalties to Armenia and Azerbaijan divide them in the frozen conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"In the Caucasus there is always a potential rivalry (between Russia and Turkey)," said Lukyanov.
But analysts say the construction projects Turkish firms receive are part of a complex tit-for-tat exchange between the two countries that has seen Turkey raise the amount of gas it buys from Russia to nearly half its total imports.
In 2008 Russia overtook Germany as Turkey's biggest trading partner, the lion's share of which has come from natural gas contracts.
Turkey has approved Russia's plans to allow the almost $20 bln South Stream pipeline, which aims to supply southern Europe with 63 bln cubic metres of natural gas a year, to pass under its territorial waters.
Even with Turkey's permission to build the pipeline through its waters, Ankara may still use the line as a chip in negotiations over gaining enough gas for its own domestic supply.
Recent offshore natural gas discoveries between Cyprus and Israel have also prompted Russia to seek a part of the action, with Moscow considering a second loan to the near bankrupt Cyprus government, with the 5 bln euros expected to be conditional to other investments in the area, including banking.
However, the gas discoveries are outside Turkey’s realm which is trying to establish a foothold by suggesting it would explore for hydrocarbons off the island’s northern shore, currently under Turkish military control.
