Relations between Turkey and Russia are based on common interests and mutual respect, and their development maintains a positive course, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a hearing in the parliamentary commission on next year's budget.
"Our relationship with Russia is an important aspect of our foreign policy. Relations between Turkey and Russia are based on common interests and mutual respect," Cavusoglu stressed. - "Despite the existence of issues on which we cannot agree with Russia, we strive to keep the dialogue alive and come to common denominators. Our dialogue continues to yield tangible results, as it was in Nagorno-Karabakh".
According to the Foreign Minister of the Republic, Turkey "will continue to pursue this strategic approach [with Russia] in the coming period".
About trade
Cavusoglu said that the volume of bilateral trade between Turkey and Russia in the first nine months of 2020 was $14 billion.
"Projects such as the Turkish Stream gas pipeline, which we launched on January 8, and Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, where we aim to start our first reactor in 2023, are the main headlines of our bilateral relations. Despite the pandemic, bilateral trade with Russia amounted to $14 billion in the first nine months of the year, and the number of Russian tourists we welcome to our country with the resumption of air service on August 1 reached 1.9 million as of October. This shows the level of our bilateral relations," the Turkish Foreign Minister said.
According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in the first 9 months of 2020, the trade turnover between Russia and Turkey was $14,571,977,152, down 25.77% ($5,058,301,454) compared to the same period of 2019.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS