MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a joint statement on Friday committing to strengthen political and economic cooperation, notably in energy and commerce.
The talks among Putin and Erdogan took place as Russia’s isolation intensifies in the aftermath of its involvement in Ukraine.
“Despite present regional and global obstacles,” the Kremlin declared after the four-hour meeting in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.
Putin and Erdogan agreed to increase trade as well as economic and energy cooperation, with a focus on transportation, agriculture, tourism, and building.According to the statement, the leaders agreed to meet the needs of the opposite team in the fields of economy and energy.”
In televised remarks, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak called the accords “extremely important,” with ties aiming to reach “a new level of development” across “nearly all industries.”
According to the Kremlin, Putin and Erdogan both emphasised the need of “sincere, frank, and trusted ties” in achieving regional and global stability.
While Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine was not expressly mentioned in the statement, the leaders emphasised the restart of Ukrainian grain imports, crediting the deal to the two nations’ “positive ties.”
