Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will hold the second face-to-face meeting in a week - the first took place on March 10 in Antalya. On March 14, the foreign ministers held a telephone conversation.
One of the central topics of the talks will be the situation in Ukraine. As indicated in the Russian MFA, the Russian side will inform their Turkish counterparts about the progress of the special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine and the steps taken to ensure the safety of civilians, including the creation of humanitarian corridors and the evacuation of foreign citizens. As early as the next day, Thursday, Cavusoglu will travel to Ukraine.
Ankara seeks to mediate between Moscow and Kiev. At the diplomatic forum in Antalya last week, Turkey managed to arrange a meeting between Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba. Although the talks were unsuccessful, Ankara is not abandoning its attempts and says it is ready to provide a platform for possible talks between Russian and Ukrainian presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky.
The ministers will also discuss how to increase bilateral trade and economic cooperation in the face of increasing sanctions pressure. As the Turkish foreign minister assured, Ankara will not join the Western sanctions against Russia imposed because of the special military operation in Ukraine.
Peace in the South Caucasus and Syria
The sides are expected to work in detail on deepening cooperation in the Transcaucasus region, including unblocking transport links and communications and post-conflict reconstruction. The establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey would contribute to this, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan expressed his readiness to do so the previous day. Russia plays its own role in the efforts to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations: it was in Moscow that the first meeting between representatives of Yerevan and Ankara was held on January 14.
The Libyan settlement process remains an important area of focus for both sides. The Russian foreign ministry stressed ahead of the meeting that Russia and Turkey make a significant contribution to the maintenance of a cease-fire between the opposing forces in Libya. During the upcoming talks Lavrov and Cavusoglu will focus on finding ways to further establish a comprehensive political dialogue and return the socio-economic and public life in Libya to a peaceful and stable track.
Astana Troika
The ministers will traditionally pay special attention to joint work on the settlement in Syria, including in the Astana format. It is noteworthy that the day before Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, another member of the Astana format, visited Moscow. The sides are expected to work on the timing and content of the next trilateral summit to be held this year in Iran. Lavrov and Cavusoglu will also discuss tasks in the context of stepping up the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, whose next meeting is scheduled for March 21 in Geneva.
Bilateral issues
Moscow notes positive trends in trade and economic ties with Turkey. In 2021 the trade turnover grew by 57% compared to 2020 and reached $33 billion.
The ministers are expected to touch upon cooperation on such projects as the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and the operation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Another priority area of cooperation between Moscow and Ankara was the fight against the pandemic. Earlier, an agreement was reached to localize in Turkey the Russian vaccine against coronavirus Sputnik V.
In 2021 more than 4 million Russian citizens visited Turkish resorts. In this regard, close attention will be paid to issues of comprehensive security of Russians in Turkey.
The ministers also intend to discuss the organization of the ninth meeting of the Joint Group for Strategic Planning. The previous, eighth meeting of the group was held on December 29, 2020, in Sochi.
"We expect that the upcoming ministerial meeting in Moscow will make a real contribution to the further development of mutually beneficial relations between Russia and Turkey and strengthen the strategic vision of current international problems while taking into account the national interests of the two countries," the Russian MFA stressed on the eve of the talks.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS