Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said Russia's relations with Turkey are becoming deeper and richer, in a meeting in Moscow with Turkey’s top diplomat along with its defense minister and intelligence chief.
"Our relations with Turkey are becoming deeper and more meaningful, becoming deeper in the field of economic cooperation, in addressing a number of issues related to regional issues," Putin said during his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
In the nationally televised meeting, Putin also mentioned the "regular character" of contacts with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Russia and Turkey along with other countries have made serious progress in resolving the Syrian crisis, Putin added.
"Thanks to the efforts of our countries with the involvement of other interested states, in particular, I mean Iran, our cooperation with the UN, with European countries, with the United States -- we've managed to make serious progress in resolving the Syrian crisis," he said.
Turkey's National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan, chief of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), met with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu in Moscow on Friday.The top officials discussed regional security, recent developments in Syria, and bilateral cooperation between Ankara and Moscow, said a Turkish official who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.According to a statement by Russia’s Defense Ministry, "The heads of the military services continued a substantive dialogue on the situation in Syria, which began a week ago at a bilateral meeting in Moscow, during which the Russian side handed over to Turkish colleagues proposals on resolving the situation in the northwest of Syria.''The meeting was expected to address the issue of Idlib in northwestern Syria, a subject also addressed today in a meeting in Moscow between Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.Last week Fidan and Akar also visited Moscow where they met with Russian officials along with Shoygu, in a meeting focusing on humanitarian aid to Syria and the return of refugees from abroad.Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to receive the Turkish officials later in the day.German foreign minister to visit Turkey next monthMilitary solution in Syria’s Idlib would be ‘disaster’: Turkish FM
Turkish top officials meet Russian defense minister