Putin, Erdogan discuss Syria, normalization of Ankara-Damascus ties

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Mar 2023 18:44

The Kremlin highlights that Erdogan noted Russia's constructive mediating role in the process of normalizing Turkish-Syrian relations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Sep. 16, 2022 (Sputnik)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan positively assessed the dynamics of the bilateral economic ties between the two countries during a phone conversation on Saturday, the Kremlin said.

In a statement, the Kremlin said that Putin and Erdogan "discussed current issues of Russian-Turkish partnership in different fields."

It added that the two leaders expressed satisfaction "with the positive dynamics of trade and economic ties, successful implementation of joint strategic energy projects, including gas supplies and the construction of the Akkuyu" nuclear power plant (NPP) in Turkey.

Russia is taking part in the construction of the Akkuyu NPP, which began in April 2018. It will be the first nuclear power plant in Turkey.

The plant, which will be equipped with advanced Russian VVER-1200 reactors, is expected to generate about 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year and cover up to 10% of Turkey's electricity needs. The project is estimated to cost about $20 billion.

Putin and Erdogan also agreed to consider the possibility of supplying Turkey with construction materials from Russia in order to reconstruct buildings destroyed by the recent devastating earthquake, the statement added.

"The Turkish president once again expressed his sincere gratitude for the help in overcoming the consequences of the earthquake, including the recent deployment of a Russian field hospital in the Hatay province," the Kremlin said.

Putin, Erdogan discuss Syria, normalization of Ankara-Damascus relations

In the same context, the statement confirmed that the two presidents discussed the Syrian issue, stressing the need to continue normalizing relations between Ankara and Damascus.

"The sides discussed the Syrian issue, stressing the importance of continuing the process of normalizing the Turkish-Syrian relations," the statement read.

It highlighted that Erdogan noted "Russia's constructive mediating role in this regard."

It is noteworthy that in December 2022, the Russian, Syrian, and Turkish defense ministers held talks in the Russian capital where they discussed means of resolving the Syrian crisis.

"On December 28, trilateral talks between the defense ministers of Russia, Syria, and Turkey took place in Moscow. The meeting discussed ways to address the Syrian crisis, the issue of refugees, and joint efforts to combat extremist groups in Syria," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the defense ministers highlighted how the dialogue was constructive, stressing the need for all three parties to hold further talks to bring more stability to Syria and the whole region, the Russian Defense Ministry indicated in a statement.

Erdogan positively assesses Russia's consent to extend Grain Deal

Elsewhere, the Kremlin mentioned that the Turkish President gave a positive assessment of Russia's consent to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative by 60 days.

"The Turkish leader positively assessed Russia's consent to extend by 60 days the Istanbul agreements regarding the export of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports and unblocking the export of Russian food and fertilizers," the statement said.

It pointed out that Erdogan also expressed his understanding of Moscow's intention to achieve full implementation of the second part of the package agreements on removing barriers to exports of agricultural products from Russia.