The talks between Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, which took place the day before in Sochi, were timely and very useful for the two sides, Russian leader spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"These were very constructive, timely and necessary contacts, and very useful for the two sides," Peskov said.
"First of all, they talked about bilateral relations. The economy sagged by more than 20% in terms of trade turnover in 2020, but in the first seven to eight months of this year we have already grown by 55% in our joint trade and economic turnover. We have not only won back the fall of the previous year, but added more than 30%, it is a very good dynamics, positive, once again confirms a very good potential that we have in terms of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries," added the Kremlin representative.
According to him, attention was drawn to the mutual restrictions that remain in the economy, for example, the additional import duties, which in Turkey are valid for a number of positions of metallurgical products, plywood, tires. "President Putin raised this topic in his conversation with Mr. Erdogan," Peskov noted.
"They talked about agriculture. Russia supplies a very large volume of grains to Turkey, supplies of famous Turkish tomatoes, cucumbers and so on to the Russian Federation, this was also on the agenda," the Kremlin spokesman continued.
At the same time Peskov did not specify the exact parameters of the contracts that were discussed at the talks between Putin and Erdogan.
On decisions on TurkStream
According to the Kremlin spokesman, the Russian and Turkish leaders "talked about gas matters, discussed gas supplies." In particular, Putin praised the Turkish leadership's timely and effective decisions on TurkStream, Peskov said. "The decisions were taken quickly, everything was implemented in time, very promptly," the Russian leader's spokesman added.
The current situation shows the correctness of these actions, Peskov noted. "We see how the energy, gas market in Europe is feverish, and against this background, Turkey with all the existing infrastructure feels guaranteed, secured and insured against such abrupt changes in the situation in their country," he summed up.
On the Akkuyu nuclear power plant
Putin and Erdogan discussed major projects that are on the joint agenda, particularly the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Peskov said.
"They talked about the possible construction of new units and in general about what needs to be done in terms of our cooperation for the nascent peaceful atom sector, nuclear power in Turkey," he said.
This is "not just the construction of one or more units" of a nuclear power plant, the Russian president's spokesman noted. "This is how a new, advanced, high-tech, clean in terms of all green transitions and so on sector of the economy is created in Turkey. And Russia, of course, helps Turkey in this regard and intends to further expand cooperation," the Kremlin spokesman explained.
On cooperation in military-technical sphere and space
The presidents also discussed cooperation in space. "They mentioned <...> the possibility of training a Turkish cosmonaut and so on, president Putin also talked about this," Peskov said.
"They talked about the possibility of continuing cooperation in terms of military-technical cooperation, military-technical cooperation, and continued cooperation and expansion on S-400. In other areas, they discussed the possibility of producing some components on Turkish territory," the Kremlin spokesman added.
They also talked about the possibility of cooperation in the aviation sector. "You know that the Americans have excluded Turkey from their program [production of the F-35 fifth-generation fighter-bomber]," Peskov noted.
On the restoration of tourist flow
According to Peskov, the talks were also about tourism. "The volume of our tourists is gradually increasing," the Kremlin spokesman pointed out.
"The number of our tourists decreased to 1.5 million people last year and now for the first eight months of this year it is already 2.5 million," the spokesman specified. - "The volume of tourist exchanges is recovering."
On the situation in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh
Putin and Erdogan paid much attention to international issues. "Regional conflicts were also tightly on the agenda, they exchanged views on Syria in detail, talked about Afghanistan, Libya, and, of course, about the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement," Peskov said.
He said that Russia emphasized that the sides should look for compromise solutions on border delimitation and the development of transport infrastructure.
On the danger of transferring drones to Ukraine
Moscow has drawn attention to an agreement between Kiev and Ankara to build a center for servicing Turkish drones in Ukraine, the Russian president's press secretary said.
"Of course, the Kremlin has noticed this," he said when asked about the agreement to build a training and test center in the Kiev region to service Turkish Bayraktar drones. - "Our position that the transfer of such weapon systems to Ukraine is fraught with the fact that these weapons may be used by Ukrainian armed forces against their own people is well known. And it is well known in Turkey".
About vaccination
During the meeting in Sochi, the presidents noted the need for vaccinations and revaccinations against the coronavirus. "They talked about vaccinations, about vaccines. They noted the need to be vaccinated and revaccinated," Peskov said.
He recalled that Putin told Erdogan that the Sputnik V vaccine works and has proven effective. "The president personally experienced it for himself when a large number of people around him got sick and when he came into contact with them," the Kremlin spokesman said.
About the Cooperation council
Putin and Erdogan have agreed to work on and hold a high-level cooperation council between the two countries by the end of the year, if the epidemiological situation allows, a spokesman for the head of state said.
"The presidents agreed to work on the topic and hold the Supreme state council (meaning the Council of cooperation of the highest level of the two countries) by the end of the year, if the sanitary and epidemiological situation, which does not favor us much, allows," Peskov said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS