Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit the Black Sea resort of Sochi with a delegation for a one-day working visit on Monday to conduct a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations, economy and energy, as well as regional issues such as Syria, according to a statement released on Sunday by the Turkish presidency’s press center.
An inter-delegation meeting is also expected with the attendance of the two countries’ ministers and officials.
Among the topics expected to be discussed are Turkey-Russia relations, economy and energy issues, as well as regional and international issues, particularly Syria.
The latest developments in Idlib is also among the topics on the agenda.
The Turkish president will be meeting Russia’s Putin face-to-face for a second time in September, after a trilateral summit in Iranian capital Tehran last week.
During the summit, Erdogan called for a cease-fire in northwestern Idlib province of Syria -- where the Syrian regime recently announced plans to launch a major military offensive.
The first tripartite summit was held in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on Nov. 22 to discuss progress made in the Astana peace talks and changes in de-escalation zones across Syria.
The second trilateral meeting was hosted by Erdogan in April in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The people in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib will not be displaced from their homelands with Turkey’s determination, the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said Sunday.“People of Idlib are trying to make the world listen to their voices. With Turkey’s resolve, these people will stay in their lands and we will protect them,” Erhan Yemelek, the IHH’s Syria coordinator told Anadolu Agency.Yemelek said Idlib has become a city that hosts internally displaced Syrians from every part of the country.Stating that the city currently has 3-4 million people, he said: “After the Tehran Summit, people of Idlib got worried. They waited for the world to turn its direction to Idlib.”On Sept. 7, a trilateral summit between the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran underlined that “there could be no military solution to the Syrian conflict" and called for advancing the political process to reach a negotiated solution.Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a cease-fire in Idlib during the summit.Yemelek added that Turkey was the guarantor country (with Russia and Iran) of the region, and people there have been praying day and night for Turkey to not leave them alone.Stressing that Syrian people have been suffering for the last seven or eight years, he said they did not want to be a burden on Turkey’s shoulders and wanted to live in their own lands.He also called on all non-governmental organizations to help meet the needs of people living in camps in the rural areas near Idlib’s border.The Syrian regime recently announced plans to launch a major military offensive in Idlib, which has long been controlled by various armed opposition groups.Later, the UN warned that such an offensive would lead to the "worst humanitarian catastrophe in the 21st century".Located near the Turkish border, Idlib is home to more than 3 million Syrians, many of whom fled from other cities following attacks by regime forces.
Turkey's resolve to stop displacement in Syria's Idlib
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey was preparing for historic changes in education on the eve of the new academic year on Sunday.Stating that Turkey had entered a new era in every field with its new executive presidency system, he said: “During this long process, which requires patience, effort, sincerity and sacrifice, we are also preparing for historic changes in education.”“By building 288,000 new classrooms, appointing 605,000 new teachers, cutting down the number of students per classroom below 30 and providing free textbooks, we have ushered in a new age in the field of education. We will incessantly continue our reforms in this area in the new academic year as well, by keeping in mind the requirements of the times, developing technologies and our nation’s expectations,” he added.Some 18 million children and more than a million teachers in Turkey will head back to school on Monday at the start of the new academic year.The first semester will end on Jan.18, 2019 and the mid-term break will last until Feb. 1.Students in Turkey to head back to school on Monday
Erdoğan: We are preparing for historic changes in education