Updated 20 July 2022 at 10:03 IST

Putin gets 'taste of his own medicine' as Erdogan makes him wait for talks in Tehran

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made Russia's Vladimir Putin wait for nearly a minute in Iran before their meeting could start on Tuesday.

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Image: Twitter | Image: self

In what is being called Russian President Vladimir Putin getting a “taste of his own medicine”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the Kremlin leader wait for nearly a minute in Iran before their meeting could start. Both leaders were slated to meet in Tehran, where Putin arrived on Tuesday, the Russian President looked “frazzled” while waiting for Erdogan, who had to wait for at least two minutes for the Kremlin leader back in 2020 for similar bilateral talks. 

Erdogan’s “sweet payback” to Putin came at a time when Russia’s global position suffered a blow in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war. With the Ukrainian side repeatedly raising concerns over the Russian army bombing civilian areas in its “special” military operation, the entire West has also rallied in support of Kyiv. A flurry of sanctions has been imposed on Russian officials and entities including the Kremlin leader and his aides. But, as Russia’s image was tainted after February 24, Turkey emerged as the mediator between Moscow and Kyiv. 

This means that the world order, which was shaken by Moscow’s military operation, is somewhat in the hands of Turkey as it shares cordial relations with both countries involved in the conflict. In a major proof of how Putin’s popularity has shifted in the five months of the Russia-Ukraine war, Erdogan chose their latest meeting to return the gesture that left him flabbergasted back in 2020. In the recent video, which has been making rounds on social media, Putin can be seen frazzled before shrugging and then walking toward the Turkish President for a handshake. 

Erdogan was visibly upset with Putin arriving late in 2020

Back in 2020, Erdogan was kept waiting by Putin for at least two minutes and a similar video had circulated on social media at the time. Both Erdogan and Putin showcased similar expressions of being frazzled after the other one arrived late for the bilateral meeting. In 2020, the Russian and Turkish heads of state met to ease tensions over Syria. At the time, a ceasefire deal was met for Idlib which was the last stronghold of the Syrian opposition. 

It is to mention here that Putin has a long history of arriving late for meetings. He has even admitted it as one of his bad habits. The Kremlin leader has also made Pope Francis wait for more than an hour before their meeting in 2020. Back in 2012, then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich also had to wait for Putin for four hours because apparently, the Russian President ran into a group of his motorcycling friends on the way. 

Image: Twitter

Published By : Aanchal Nigam

Published On: 20 July 2022 at 10:01 IST