"Turkey and Russia
Old rivals, new partners
Aug 13th 2009 | ANKARA
An alliance of convenience that arouses some suspicion in the West
AFP Friends or foes?
THROUGH the long Ottoman era, Turks and Russians fought many bloody wars. In modern times Turkey guarded NATO’s southern flank against Soviet mischief. “The Russians are treacherous” is a popular Turkish adage. But one would hardly have guessed it as the two countries’ prime ministers, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, splashily signed a raft of agreements in a ceremony in Ankara on August 6th."
More:Turkey and Russia: Old rivals, new partners | The Economist