Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's official spokesman Ibrahim Kalin called Russian President Vladimir Putin a shrewd leader who is not trying to impose his Turkish counterpart's choice of sides in the Ukraine issue.
"Mr. Putin is a shrewd leader who understands that it will not work to impose this kind of thing on Erdogan. Erdogan and Putin have a very good and strong relationship, one based on mutual trust and confidence. It is thanks to them that we can work on Syria, the Astana process, the grain corridor, and other critical issues," Kalin said Thursday on CNN Türk.
Regarding the dialogue on Ukraine, he noted that "Russia is well aware of Turkey's position." "We tell the Russian side that the conflict must end on the basis of Ukraine's territorial integrity and with its political independence preserved and with the condition that all annexed territories be returned," Kalin said.
He also recalled his visit to Moscow in March. During the contacts, he said, "more bilateral topics were discussed in the Kremlin." "Preparations for the ceremony at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, the development of bilateral trade, exports of tomatoes, fish. They talked about tourism, increasing the number of flights. There were also proposals from Russia to help us after earthquakes and to supply building materials at reduced prices. We also discussed the gas center issue in Turkey. And we also touched upon Ukraine at the end," said Kalin.
Responding to the anchor's question whether Putin supported Erdogan in connection with the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, Kalin said it was not very correct to put the question in the context of the elections and "there is no question of support". He reiterated that the relationship between the two leaders is very effective, "allowing them to successfully conduct diplomacy at the highest level."
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS