Erdogan's unconventional table tennis technique causes a stir

Ping-pong in Astana: On the sidelines of a summit in Astana, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a table tennis match with his Kazakh counterpart Kassymshomart Tokayev. Photos of the game of the two in their late sixties on Thursday with shirt and tie under a pompous chandelier attracted attention, among other things because of Erdogan's strange bat position.

Pictures showed how Erdogan held the blade of the bat instead of the handle - apparently a standard position of the Turkish President, as pictures from past table tennis games suggest. The two presidents had also had matches in the past.

Erdogan attends the Summit of the Conference on Cooperation and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana. At noon he also met with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. According to Russian information, however, the two heads of state have not exchanged views on a solution to the Ukraine conflict. "An agreement between Russia and Ukraine was not an issue," the state news agency RIA quoted the spokesman for the Russian Presidential Office, Dmitry Peskov.

Instead, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested using Russian gas to develop Turkey into a transhipment point and exchange for natural gas. "If Turkey and our potential buyers are interested, we could consider building another gas pipeline and creating a gas hub in Turkey for sale to third countries, mainly Europe," Putin offered his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip According to the Interfax news agency, Erdogan attended a meeting on Thursday. In addition, a gas exchange for price determination could also be set up in Turkey, suggested Putin. Erdogan initially had no comment.

In the past, the Turkish government and its leader Erdogan have repeatedly advocated the inviolability of Ukrainian borders and a diplomatic solution to the conflict. According to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, eleven heads of state and government are expected to attend the summit in Astana.