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Erdoğan and Putin in Sochi
Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev / AP
At their meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to expand economic relations between their two countries.
At the meeting on Friday in the southern Russian tourist metropolis of Sochi, "very important decisions" were made in the area of trade and the economy, said Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak, according to the TASS agency.
For example, the conditions for cooperation are to be made easier for Russian and Turkish companies.
The Turkish nuclear power plant Akkuyu, which is being built by a Russian state-owned company, was also discussed at the four-hour meeting, Nowak said.
In addition, both sides had agreed that Turkey would in future pay for Russian gas in rubles.
Putin and Erdoğan also confirmed their willingness to implement a recently concluded agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain.
The need to “ensure the full implementation of the package agreement” was emphasized, Russian agencies quoted from a joint statement by the two heads of state.
The presidents did not talk about combat drones
At their meeting, the two agreed, according to the Kremlin, "despite the current regional and global challenges" on increased trade between the two countries, as reported by AFP.
What was eagerly awaited was whether Putin and Erdoğan would talk about a possible acquisition of Turkish combat drones by Russia.
In the course of its war against Ukraine, Moscow had recently expressed interest in the Bayraktar TB2 weapons.
In the evening, however, journalists from the state news agency Ria Nowosti said that the two presidents had not addressed the issue.
In the joint statement, the heads of state also reaffirmed their determination to fight terrorist organizations in Syria together, as reported by Reuters.
Partnership based on strategic interests
Turkey and Russia maintain a partnership that is primarily characterized by strategic interests.
Daria Isachenko from the Science and Politics Foundation calls it “a very sensitive network of connections”.
Turkey depends on grain, energy and tourists from Russia.
In 2020, almost 34 percent of Turkey's gas imports came from there.
Russian gas pipelines run through Turkey.
Turkey is also not participating in Western sanctions against Russia, which increases the country's importance for Russian companies, for example.
The Russian foreign policy expert Alexej Puschkow, for example, praised Erdoğan for representing the interests of his own country “in contrast to the euro politicians” and not being afraid of “opposing the collective West”. Both countries are in conflict at the same time as in Syria, Libya or Nagorno-Karabakh on different sides without taking direct action against each other.
as /ani/dpa/Reuters