Putin and Erdogan pledge reset after diplomatic rift

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) visited Saint Petersburg in his first foreign trip since the failed coup in July 2016

Saint Petersburg (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday pledged to reinvigorate ties after their first meeting since Ankara shot down a Russian warplane last November.

Erdogan's visit to Putin's hometown of Saint Petersburg is also his first foreign trip since the failed coup against him last month that sparked a purge of opponents and cast a shadow over Turkey's relations with the West.

"We lived through a very complicated moment in the relations between our states and we very much want, and I feel our Turkish friends want, to overcome the difficulties," Putin told journalists at a joint press conference.

He insisted it would take "painstaking work" and "some time" to return to previous trade levels as Russia rolls back punishing economic sanctions against Ankara, but both sides said they wanted to restart major energy projects hit by the crisis.

Erdogan said he hoped relations would become "more robust" and stressed how important it was that Putin offered his support after the coup.

"We will bring our relations back to the old level and even beyond," he said.

The shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by a Turkish F-16 on the Syrian border last November saw Putin slap sanctions on Turkey and launch a blistering war of words that dealt serious damage to burgeoning ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C-L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan enter a hall to start their meeting with Russian and Turkish entrepreneurs, at Konstantinovsky Palace outside St. Petersburg, on August 9, 2016

But in a shock reversal in late June, Putin accepted a letter from Erdogan expressing regret over the incident as an apology.

He quickly rolled back a ban on the sale of package holidays to Turkey and signalled Moscow would end measures against Turkish food imports and construction firms.

Now in the wake of the failed July 15 coup attempt, there are fears in Western capitals that NATO-member Turkey could draw even closer to Moscow -- with Erdogan bluntly making it clear he feels let down by the United States and the European Union.

Turkey has repeatedly pressed Washington to extradite Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the failed coup, and on Tuesday said it could suspend bilateral ties over the issue.

Putin was one of the first foreign leaders to phone Erdogan offering support after the coup attempt and shares none of the concerns of EU leaders about the ensuing crackdown.

- Back to business? -

Relations between Turkey and Russia -- two powers vying for influence in the strategic Black Sea region and Middle East -- have long been complicated.

Yet before the plane crisis, Moscow and Ankara managed to prevent disputes on Syria and Ukraine from harming cooperation on issues like the TurkStream gas pipeline to Europe and a Russian-built nuclear power station in Turkey.

Those projects were put on ice with trade between the two countries plunging 43 percent in January-May this year to $6.1 billion, and Turkey's tourism industry seeing visitor numbers from Russia fall by 93 percent.

With Turkey's outlook flagging and Russia mired in economic crisis due to low oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, both men want to get business started again.

Erdogan said he wanted to see the TurkStream project "done as fast as possible", while Putin said construction could start "in the nearest future" and that the restoration of business ties would be done "in phases".

The Turkish leader also insisted the two sides were once again targeting an ambitious trade turnover of $100 billion by 2024.

But Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told media it could take up to two years to fully restore pre-crisis trade levels.

- Skirting Syria -

A previous uptick in relations between Turkey and Russia was built on a macho friendship between Putin and Erdogan, two combative leaders in their early 60s credited with restoring confidence to their nations in the wake of financial crises but also criticised for clampdowns on human rights.

But after such a bitter dispute -- which saw Putin accuse Erdogan of profiting from an illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group -- it will take a lot for the pair to repair relations.

The two strongmen conspicuously skirted one major issue that divides them -- the war in Syria.

Russia is carrying out a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey is fiercely opposed to the Syrian leader.

Trump azidi kujikwaa ulimi kuelekea uchaguzi

Mgombea urais wa chama cha Republican Donald Trump, ametifua zogo jingine kwa kutoa matamshi yaliyotafsiriwa kuwa yanayowachochea wanaotetea haki za kumiliki bunduki kuchukua hatua zitakazomzuia Hillary Clinton. 

Akizungumza hapo jana katika mkutano wa hadhara, katika jimbo la North Carolina, Trump alisema Clinton akiachiwa kushinda, atawachagua majaji watakaopinga sheria ya haki ya kumiliki silaha nchini Marekani, matamshi ambayo yalionekana yanachochea kuangamizwa kwa mpinzani wake.

Kundi linalomfanyia kampeni Clinton limeyataja matamshi hayo kuwa hatari na kusema mtu anayepania kuwa rais wa Marekani hapaswi kupendekeza matumizi yoyote ya nguvu.
Maneno ya Trump ni hatari

Hilary Clinton

Hata hivyo, kundi la kampeni za Trump limejaribu kumtetea mgombea wao kwa kudai alimaanisha kuwa wanaounga mkono sheria ya umiliki wa bunduki wanapaswa kujitokeza kwa wingi kumpigia kura Trump katika uchaguzi ujao.

Mgombea urais wa Democrats Hillary Clinton

Punde baada ya matamshi hayo makali ya Trump, watu wengi katika mitandao ya kijamii wamemshutumu mgombea huyo wa Republican kwa kutaka kuuawa kwa Clinton.
Idara ya usalama wa Marekani inayotoa huduma za usalama kwa Trump na Clinton ambayo ni nadra kuzungumzia masuala ya kisiasa imesema inafahamu kuhusu matamshi hayo yaliyotolewa na Trump, lakini haikusema kama itaanzisha uchunguzi.
Michael Hayden, mkurugenzi wa zamani wa shirika la ujasusi la Marekani - CIA, amesema kiongozi ana wajibika sio tu kwa yale ayasemayo bali pia kwa yale watu wanayoyasikia.
Matamshi yenye utata kutoka kwa mgombea huyo wa urais wa chama cha Republican yanakuja hata baada ya maafisa 50 wa usalama wa Republican siku ya Jumatatu kuonya kuwa Trump atakuwa rais atakayeiendesha nchi hiyo kwa njia hatari katika historia ya Marekani iwapo atachaguliwa.
Kundi hilo la maafisa, ambao tayari wametangaza kwamba hawatampigia kura Trump, ni pamoja na wakuu wa masuala ya usalama wa ndani, wakurugenzi wa ujasusi, washauri waandamizi wa rais na mwakilishi wa zamani wa biashara nchini Marekani.
Hata hivyo, Trump hakuwasaza hata maafisa hao wa usalama wa Republican, akiwataja kuwa ni watu wa tabaka la juu waliofeli, wanaojaribu kung'ang'ania madaraka na wanaostahili kuwajibishwa kwa kuufanya ulimwengu kutokuwa salama.
Vigogo wa Republican wana mashaka
Vigogo wa Republican wenyewe wanakiri kuwa mgombea wao anaonekana kukosa tajriba ya kuiendesha Marekani, ana ufahamu mdogo wa katiba ya nchi, sheria, asasi, uelewa na ustahimilivu kuwahusu watu wa dini tofauti, uhuru wa vyombo vya habari na kuheshimu uhuru wa idara ya mahakama.

Wagombea urais Marekani Hillary Clinton na Donald Trump

Hilary Clinton na Donald Trump

Hivi karibuni aliwashambulia kwa maneno makali wazazi wa mwanajeshi Muislamu wa Marekani aliyeuawa vitani Iraq na kusababisha baadhi ya viongozi wa Republican kujitenga naye na kutangaza hawatamuunga mkono katika azma yake ya kuwa rais wa Marekani.
Uchaguzi mkuu wa urais unatarajiwa mnamo tarehe 8 mwezi Novemba mwaka huu. Kura za maoni zinaashiria Clinton ana uungwaji mkono zaidi kuliko Trump miongoni mwa wapiga kura.

American cyclist Kristin Armstrong wins gold, Barry Bonds pretty pumped

On the eve of her 43rd birthday, American cyclist Kristin Armstrong captured her third straight Olympic gold medal in the women’s individual time trial on Wednesday morning.

Armstrong covered the 29.8-kilometer course in 44 minutes and 26.42 seconds, defeating Russia’s Olga Zabelinskaya (44:31.97) and Dutch competitor Anna van der Breggen (44:37.80). She also won the event at the Summer Olympics in 2008 and 2012 in Beijing and London, respectively.

In addition to her gold medal, Armstrong received praise from noted cyclist fan Barry Bonds.

While a different form of cycling may spring to mind when your hear the 14-time MLB All-Star’s name, Bonds has supported women’s cycling since his baseball career came to a controversial end.

“I look at him as a tremendous adviser who’s helped steer [Team Twenty16 general manager Nicola Cranmer’s] strategy,” Armstrong told ESPN The Magazine of her relationship to Bonds. “The talks he has given to the team about upping your game have been tremendous. He wants us to run a professional organization, and he’s helping with strength and vision. I know people have questions, but with what he’s given our team, I don’t find it relevant.”

No relation to fallen cycling star Lance Armstrong, Kristin made her fourth appearance at the Summer Olympics with her performance in Brazil. She also finished eighth in the women’s road race at the 2004 Athens Games. Armstrong, who began cycling after her career as a word-class triathlete was cut short by a 2001 diagnosis of osteoarthritis in both her hips, came out of her 2012 retirement last year.