At the BRICS summit, Putin struggled to say Erdogan's name due to a slight: what did the Turkish president do wrong?

At the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, while giving the floor to the President of Turkey, struggled to pronounce his name correctly. Notably, on his first attempt, he nearly got Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's name right, but when he tried to repeat it, he mixed everything up. Those familiar with Putin believe this was not an accident. He never confuses names by chance and sometimes does so to express offense or contempt. The situation with Erdoğan is likely to irritate Putin, as India opposes Turkey's admission to BRICS. This unexpected contradiction marred the summit for Putin, which was intended to showcase unity among his allies.

Videos of the incident are circulating online. In them, one can hear Putin mispronouncing the name of the Turkish president. Not only did he get the surname wrong twice, but he also did so in the incorrect order.

"The floor is given to the President of the Turkish Republic, Mr. Tayyip Erdoğan. Erjep Tayyip Erdoğan, Erdoğan," Putin barely managed to say.

During the BRICS summit, Putin failed to correctly name Erdoğan. It is known that Putin never confuses interlocutors' names accidentally, but does so to demonstrate disdain. What has caused the Kremlin's ruler to show contempt for the Turkish president? pic.twitter.com/u5J1XJamj9

— Informator (@informatorua) October 24, 2024

Putin and the Confusion Over Interlocutors' Names

Mispronouncing politicians' names is not uncommon for Russian President Vladimir Putin. For instance, in October 2020, he referred to the former President of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, as "Shariman," but this is just one of many cases.

Archives of video recordings show that Putin regularly confuses the names of politicians from Central Asia and national Russian republics. For example, in 2015, he called the former President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, "Alanbek Sharshynich." In 2019, following a conflict with the new president, he referred to Atambayev as "Aloi Reshershenovich," and his successor, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, as "Salmashacha." Even politicians he knows well, such as Nursultan Nazarbayev, received distorted versions of their names—he called him "Nasambich" in 2016.

Putin Deliberately Mispronounces Names During Speeches

Journalist and expert on Russian intelligence services Andrei Soldatov believes that such confusion is not coincidental. According to him, Putin deliberately employs these methods to "disorient the interlocutor" and buy time for a response. At the same time, reducing names to simple sounds may reflect "xenophobic bureaucratic rudeness" in Russia.

In Kazakhstan, such manifestations have provoked negative reactions. Journalist Asem Japisheva stated that the distortion of names is perceived as a display of Great Russian chauvinism. She believes that these actions are part of Russia's strategy to demonstrate dominance over neighboring countries. Japisheva mentioned that such displays of chauvinism could have serious consequences.

Thus, the issue is not just about name confusion, but also about deeper historical and political contexts that affect relations between Russia and its neighbors.

Why Putin Exhibits Rudeness Towards Erdoğan

It is known that Turkey aspires to join BRICS—an alliance of states that was established in 2006 at Russia's initiative. Interaction among BRICS countries began during the summer St. Petersburg Economic Forum. The first meeting of foreign ministers from the four countries was initiated by Putin in September 2006 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

In 2009, the first official summit of BRICS leaders took place in Yekaterinburg. Since then, heads of state and government from the member countries meet annually, with each country taking on the role of the chair for one year.

In the summer of 2024, Erdoğan submitted an application to join BRICS amid the absence of negotiations regarding EU membership. Turkey, as a NATO member, seeks to join an organization led by the Russian Federation. However, Erdoğan does not have straightforward relations with Putin.

Nevertheless, according to the publication Bild, India has decided to block Turkey's admission to the BRICS alliance due to Ankara's close ties with Pakistan, which is an adversary of New Delhi. Former diplomat and expert on Turkish foreign policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Sinan Ulgen, believes that this decision is connected to India's concerns about the geopolitical consequences of such integration.

The situation with India provokes anger in Putin, and this is not coincidental. It is known that there are disputes among the BRICS member countries. The idea of the Russian president to transform the BRICS alliance into an anti-Western coalition capable of undermining the "world order" and the dollar's hegemony has not received support from key countries in the bloc. According to Bloomberg, Indian officials emphasized that New Delhi does not wish for BRICS to become an "anti-American" organization led by Russia and China.

This position is also shared by Brazil and South Africa, which have expressed similar concerns regarding the further expansion of the bloc. The United Arab Emirates, new members of BRICS, also rejected attempts to portray the alliance as a counterbalance to the West, emphasizing that they maintain good relations with the USA. However, Russian media reported that India is not opposed to the expansion of BRICS, contradicting Bloomberg's information.

Lavrov Also Made Headlines at the BRICS Summit

A humorous moment involving Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was captured on video. While sitting in a chair, someone stepped on his foot. He then grimaced and muttered "...[pervert]" in reference to the man who stepped on his foot.

Lavrov thought that the person who stepped on his foot during the BRICS meeting in Kazan was flirting with him and called him a pervert pic.twitter.com/np1yJanUoH

— Informator (@informatorua) October 24, 2024

After All, Erdoğan Invites Putin to Turkey

Erdoğan met with Putin in Kazan on October 23. They discussed, among other things, the war in Ukraine. According to the Turkish presidential administration's directorate of communications, the parties also touched on issues related to bilateral relations, regional conflicts, including Israel's attack, and global problems.

Additionally, Erdoğan invited Putin to visit Turkey and assured that he would make efforts to resolve issues related to banking payments between the countries. The meeting lasted about an hour.