Relations between Russia and Turkey have been restored almost completely, said Vladimir Putin, welcoming Recep Erdogan in Sochi. All areas see clear progress: from reviving interrupted economic ties between the states, to effective joint work on security issues in Syria. Denis Davydov is reporting on their agenda.
The Turkish President welcomed his Russian counterpart in Russian: Dobry Den (Good afternoon)!
This year, it's the 5th meeting of the leaders, and Erdogan's 3rd visit to Russia. Such frequent contacts between the heads of states are a rare phenomenon in world diplomacy, and this fact speaks for itself.
Moscow-Ankara relations are warming up again, which is confirmed not only by constant meetings between the Presidents, but also trade turnover, which has grown by almost 40%.
Vladimir Putin: "Let me stress that at the beginning of the meeting our relations were already almost fully restored. We are cooperating in practically all spheres. We cooperate very closely on security in the Syrian region. We have a very good track record discussing current issues and mapping out future solutions in real time, — said President Putin welcoming his Turkish guest. - ”It is very good to see you. Welcome".
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey: "I am happy to have this opportunity to meet with you again. Since we started normalizing relations between our countries, we have met very frequently, which helps to develop bilateral relations. Cooperation in solving regional issues give us a chance to look to the future".
Military cooperation is one of the key issues in the talks. There are four de-escalation zones in Syria. Their creation is the result of the joint work between Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Before flying to Sochi, Erdogan said that he was going to discuss the Syrian issue with Putin.
Details aren't revealed.
Special envoy of the Russian President for Syrian Settlement, Alexander Lavrentiev, refused an interview.
- What are the prospects of the de-escalation zones?
- No, guys, no, later. No comments for now.
The talks in a restricted format lasted for more than 2 hours instead of the planned 30 minutes. Waiting for the Presidents, the Turkish foreign minister kept going out to breathe the fresh air. We couldn't help but ask him about the sanctions that American senators are threatening Ankara with. The overseas reaction to one of the NATO allies buying Russian S-400 systems was painful.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkish Foreign Minister: "Yes, Turkey is NATO ally. But we're also a sovereign state, and we need to protect our airspace. We badly need these systems, that's why we cut this deal with Russia. The rest should respect this deal".
Moscow and Ankara are partners in the energy sector. The Turkish Stream gas pipeline is being laid under the Black Sea. The depth exceeds 2 km, while the installation speed is impressive, 5 kilometers per day. The pipe recently entered Turkey's exclusive economic zone. Russian experts are building the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey. The parties expect the station to be launched in a symbolic year for the country, in 2023, when the Republic of Turkey will celebrate its centenary.
Alexei Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom: "We're following this ambitious agenda. It's very ambitious, it implies the physical launch of the nuclear power plant in 2023. To date nobody would save that it was achievable, but our Russian-Turkish team assures that it will make every effort to finish by 2023".
The negotiations in Sochi continue. The participants of the meeting are expected to talk in an extended format during the dinner. Press statements by the Presidents will follow.
Denis Davydov, Pyotr Ravnov, Pavel Kostrikov, Alexander Feoktistov, Natalya Lundovskaya and Yulia Prileva for Vesti from Sochi.
