Talks between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan began in Sochi

Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began in Sochi. This is Erdogan’s first visit to Russia this year since his re-election as president in May 2023. According to the announcement on the Kremlin’s website, “it is planned to discuss the further development of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation, as well as current international issues.”

Putin greeted Erdogan. He said that the meeting was arranged a long time ago, but for various reasons the meeting was postponed. Putin stressed that after the presidential elections in Turkey, this is the first personal meeting of the heads of state. The Russian President congratulated Erdogan on his election victory. According to him, the pace of development of relations between Russia and Turkey is maintained. In 2022, trade between the countries increased by 86%, and the positive pace is maintained in the first half of the year, Putin said: “It is not as strong as last year, but it is positive.” Relations between the countries are diversifying, Putin noted: these are not only traditional areas like energy and agriculture, but other areas are also developing. “We have made progress and, I hope, will soon complete negotiations on the creation of a gas hub in Turkey in order to make the situation more stable in the region,” Putin said. In agriculture, supplies of Turkish agricultural producers to the Russian market have been expanded, he noted.

“In the field of energy, we are moving very confidently. Agreements have been reached between the main suppliers and consumers on both sides,” Putin said. The construction of the Akkuyu NPP continues, the President of Russia recalled, and Turkey became a member of the international club of nuclear states after the delivery of the first batch of Russian nuclear fuel. “The first unit will be launched next year. There are interesting possible options for our cooperation here,” Putin said. The station now employs 25,000 people, he noted. Putin stressed that security issues in the region would also be discussed at the talks: “Of course, we will not ignore issues related to the Ukrainian crisis. I know you intend to raise questions about the grain deal. We are open to negotiations on this issue.”

Erdogan noted that the foreign trade turnover between the countries amounted to $62 billion, and the task facing the states to bring it up to $100 billion is “pleasant”. He said that a separate meeting will be held between the heads of the Central Banks of Turkey and Russia in Sochi, and he expects that trade in national currencies between the two countries will grow. Erdogan also touched upon the topic of energy, in particular, the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. And the construction of the gas hub will “enrich our relations,” the Turkish president said. According to Erdogan, one of the main ones is cooperation in the field of tourism: the Russians occupy the first place among tourists in Turkey.

Erdogan also stressed that the whole world is watching what will happen with the grain deal in the future and what will be the result of negotiations on this topic. Erdogan believes that they will be able to give the appropriate message at the scheduled press conference. Erdogan also thanked Putin for Russia sending two planes to extinguish forest fires in Turkey and suggested doubling their number. After these words, Putin recalled that Russia was one of the first countries to lend a shoulder to help after the earthquake in Turkey in February 2023, the same applies to the situation with fires. Therefore, the President of Russia believes that Russian-Turkish relations have reached a high level. First, the talks will be held in an expanded format, then in a narrow format. After that, it is expected that the heads of state will give a press conference. The last time Putin and Erdogan met was on August 5, 2022. The meeting, just like this time, was held in Sochi.