There is still a strong pro-Russian sentiment among Turkish politicians that Erdogan cannot ignore

The German newspaper Handelsblatt commented on the visit of the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergey Lavrov, to Ankara on Friday, April 7. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the only leader of a NATO member country who meets regularly with Russian authorities. However, this, according to the publication, may reduce his chances of re-election to the post of president in May 2023.

As mentioned in the article, until now, Ankara has made several attempts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv, being also one of the parties to the grain agreement.

"Erdogan has already called Putin five times this year, although he began to notice that many Turks do not like his flirting with Russia," read the newspaper columns.

According to the publication, on the eve of the presidential elections in Turkey, Ankara's "multi-vector" foreign policy is changing.

"The longer the war in Ukraine continues, the greater the dilemma facing the Turkish president. He knows very well that most of his economic partners live in the West, not Russia," writes Handelsblatt.

However, German journalists also point to the strong pro-Russian views of Turkish politicians that Erdogan cannot ignore, especially those who believe that Turkey's future lies in Eurasia.

"Russia still remains important to Turkey's tourism sector, and Turkey's first Russian-built nuclear reactor will be launched at the end of April," the article said.

The newspaper also emphasizes that the re-election of Turkey's current leader is also in Russia's interests.

As Handelsblatt writes, "today Lavrov will use all possible diplomatic tools in order not to lose the last window to the West."