Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that his country welcomed the development of relations with Turkey and said, “All developments are taking place under the leadership and with the direct support of my friend, Turkish President Erdogan.”
According to the statement made by the Kremlin, Putin received Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the Kremlin Palace.
Stating that Minister Fidan met with the foreign ministers of BRICS members in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Putin said, “We welcome Turkey’s interest in the work of BRICS. We will certainly support Turkey’s desire to be together with the countries of this Union in every possible way.”
Emphasizing that the current situation requires more interaction in terms of security and economic cooperation, especially in terms of the region where the two countries are located, Putin said, “Everything I just mentioned is among our priorities in one way or another and is being effectively developed.”
Referring to the relations between Russia and Turkey, Putin said, “We welcome the development of relations with the Republic of Turkey. Of course, all developments are taking place under the leadership and with the direct support of my friend, Turkish President Erdogan.”
Putin pointed out that despite the increase in the volume of trade between the two countries last year, there was a decline this year, and said that the main reason for this was the price correction of exported and imported goods and that they hope to compensate for this situation.
“We welcome Turkey’s determination to contribute to the resolution of crises”
Referring to the crisis in Ukraine, Putin made the following assessment:
“We welcome the determination of our Turkish friends to contribute to the resolution of crisis situations, including the Ukrainian crisis. I would like to thank you for your support to the negotiation process, for providing the Istanbul platform for negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.”
Putin emphasized that Erdogan played an important role in the Grain Corridor Agreement between Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations in Istanbul on July 22, 2022 and said, “Unfortunately, the agreement was not extended and it is not our fault.”
Stating that Erdogan took initiatives regarding the situation in the Black Sea, Putin said:
“We supported this initiative, but unfortunately, the Ukrainian side rejected this proposal at the last moment. Nevertheless, we consider all the initiatives of the Republic of Turkey in this direction carefully and with great respect. We will continue to be in touch with you in this regard.”
“We played an important role in the resolution of the Syrian crisis”
Vladimir Putin stated that Russia and Turkey play an important role in resolving the Syrian crisis and said, “I think it is right to do our part to ensure that the Astana format continues, to fight terrorism, to normalize the situation in this direction, which is most important for us. In general, the situation is developing positively.”
“I would like you to convey my best wishes to President Erdogan. I hope that in the near future, on July 3-4, as far as I know, Erdogan will be in Astana as part of an international event, and we will have the opportunity to meet with him and discuss all issues,” Putin said.
