Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Moscow on Thursday to discuss with Vladimir Putin the ways to deescalate the tension in Syria’s Idlib province. When the Russian president and his guest were briefing the media, a mantel clock could be seen behind their backs. The instrument is decorated with a bronze group sculpture called ‘Crossing the Balkans’.

Made by artist Eugene Lanceray in 1880, the work shows Russian troops crossing over the Balkan Mountains during the Russian-Turkish war a few years prior. The war, incidentally, ended in a humiliating defeat for the Ottomans, who lost control over large swathes of their Balkan territories.

While some people instantly jumped to conclusion that the clock must have been placed there deliberately as a reminder to Erdogan, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this was not the case. “Of course it was a coincidence,” he assured, adding that the piece of art has been in the room for about two decades.

The trolling theory may be appealing to Russian nationalists, but should be taken with a grain of salt even by those who wouldn’t take Peskov’s word on it. Lanceray, who despite his French name was a Russian artist, is not as internationally famous as Michelangelo or Rodin. So one wouldn’t expect Erdogan to instantly recognize this particular work and decipher the alleged signal.

If anything, the Turkish leader could have had an issue with another statue he could see in the Kremlin. A big monument to Catherine the Great, the 18th century Russian Empress credited with wrestling Crimea from the Turks during the three decades of her rule, could be seen in some of the photos of the state visit.

If the Turkish leader had any strong feelings about the interior of the Kremlin, he wouldn’t share it with the public, so we may only guess if he considers himself trolled.

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