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The Russian-Turkish Public Forum will be held between Nov. 1-4 in Turkey's Mediterranean resort city Antalya, secretary-general of the group said Tuesday.
Sergey Markov said that during the session Russian and Turkish experts would discuss underlying problems and offer possible solutions.
"First question on the agenda is the visa issue. There is now a serious disparity in this area. And this is one of the key issues the Turkish side constantly raises," he said.
He offered to move to e-visa and visa issuance at airports in the first stage and then to remove visa requirement for Turkish citizens.
The Turkish, Iranian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers gathered in Istanbul on Tuesday for their sixth trilateral meeting.Speaking at a joint press conference afterwards, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said there is no problem in implementation of the Sochi agreement for Idlib, Syria reached last month between Turkey and Russia."Right now, there is no problem regarding implementation of this memorandum," he said.He said two roads in Syria -- one connecting Aleppo to Hama and another connecting Aleppo to Latakia -- will be opened by the end of the year.PYD/PKK suspect arrested on Turkey-Syria border"Everything is on track right now," Çavuşoğlu said.He said if terror groups or radical groups in Syria try to step over the line, Turkey will be the first to intervene, before anyone else.Çavuşoğlu added that besides Turkey and Russia, Iran is the country that has supported and contributed the most to the process leading to the Sochi agreement.After a Sept. 17 meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two sides agreed to set up a demilitarized zone -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited -- in Syria’s Idlib province.Turkey, US finalize steps for joint patrols in ManbijUnder the terms of the deal, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.Video: Trilateral Turkey-Azerbaijan-Iran FMs meeting in IstanbulKremlin says Turkey is fulfilling obligationsRussia confirms that Turkey is making great efforts to establish a demilitarized zone in Syria's Idlib, a Kremlin spokesperson said Tuesday.We do not see a threat of violation for the Russian-Turkish memorandum in this Syrian province, Dmitry Peskov told journalists during a daily conference-call in Moscow."Unfortunately, not everything goes according to the plan -- or, according to the ideal plan that was worked out," Peskov said."But, as [President Vladimir] Putin said, we accept it understandingly, because indeed the situation there is extremely difficult," he added.Ankara and Moscow also signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the “stabilization” of Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Turkey says Idlib deal going as planned, no issue in implementation
The next question on the agenda is a perceptual problem, Markov said.
"There is a phenomenon, known as the Russian-Turkish information paradox. The Russian media write about Turkey based on what they read on western media, and the same is true with Turkish media. We seem to look to each other through the lens of western media and this reflection is often distorted," he said.
This paradox can be resolved easily, Markov said, by opening doors for correspondents from both countries.
"For now, Anadolu Agency is the only major Turkish media group which has an office in Moscow," he said.
Another factor is related to experts who run think-tanks generally financed by western institutes which may manipulate public opinion, Markov added.
Teaching shared history will also be discussed at the forum.
"Russian-Turkish relations have a long and complicated history. The problem here is that the emphasis is on conflict periods. I would suggest that we develop a balanced position on the conflict periods for their teaching in schools, so that it is true, but it does not provoke negative feelings among the representatives of the two nations. And at the same time to highlight the periods of positive development," Markov said.
The forum was created by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2013. Its main task is to expand and to deepen Russian-Turkish relations. The results of the forum sessions are reported directly to the two leaders.