Normalization with Turkey complete, ties fully restored, says Putin

Relations between Turkey and Russia have been fully restored, President Vladimir Putin said in a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Sochi Wednesday.

Holding talks at the Russian president's residence in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, the two leaders discussed the latest developments on bilatereal relations, particularly the Syrian crisis.

While Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın and the head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Hakan Fidan accompanied President Erdoğan on his visit, Putin was accompanied by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Kremlin Adviser Yuri Ushakov.

During a press conference after meeting, Erdoğan said the leaders agreed on establishing a "de-escalation" zone in Syria.

"If there is a de-escalation zone, then planes will not fly there on condition that no military activity emanates from these zones. Yesterday, we discussed the issue with Trump in a telephone call. As I understand the U.S. administration also supports these ideas," Putin added on his part.

Before heading to Sochi for a meeting with Putin, President Erdoğan said the main topic of his meeting with Putin was Syria, emphasizing the fact that the two countries share common goals on the issue.

Putin told Erdoğan that bilateral relations are proceeding as planned and that it is beneficial for both leaders to sit down and discuss important international issues, including the Syrian crisis.

Putin welcomed the Turkish delegation in Sochi and thanked President Erdoğan for accepting his invitation and coming to Sochi. He emphasized that bilateral relations are developing "as planned."

"Our mutual work indicates that Russian-Turkish relations have a special status and have been fully restored," Putin said.

"I am glad that we have a chance to meet and discuss key issues, including the Syrian crisis," Putin said, adding that meeting traffic shows that Russian-Turkish relations are of a special character and are being restored to a full format.

Erdoğan began by thanking Putin for his invitation and said that the meeting will be a good opportunity for the two leaders to discuss in detail both aspects of bilateral cooperation and regional issues.

source: Daily sabah

04.05.2017