Turkey-Russia ties warm up, expanding cooperation in different spheres

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan contributed to finding a common ground regarding the Syrian conflict, revamp stalled energy projects and expand bilateral trade, closing the chill in relations between the two countries.

Vladimir Putin arrived in Istanbul at the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to participate in the 23rd World Energy Congress on October 10.

One of the most significant outcomes of the meeting was agreement on implementation of Turkish Stream project.

The leaders of two countries have voiced support for the construction of Turkish Stream- a plan that was suspended amid tensions between the two countries.

Turkish Stream was halted in late 2015 due to a sharp deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara when Turkey shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber with two pilots on board. Implementation of the project became topical following mending of ties between the two countries.

The Turkish Stream project was announced by President Putin in December 2014 during a visit to Turkey.

Following the results of the negotiations on the sidelines of World Energy Summit, the two countries signed an inter-governmental agreement on realizing the construction of the planned Turkish Stream gas pipeline to pump Russian gas under Turkish waters in the Black Sea towards Europe on October 10.

The document was signed by Minister of Energy of Russia Alexander Novak and Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Berat Albayrak.

In turn, Putin stressed that, previously, he and President Erdogan had thoroughly discussed the joint Turkish Stream pipeline ahead of the visit, saying they “intend to implement” the project.

The long-awaited Turkish-Stream deal is an important deal which will move the relations between Russia and Turkey to a more positive phase, as well as, contribute to the further development of cooperation between them.

Moreover, Russian Energy Minister Novak also noted that energy is one of the main issues in the normalization process.

“That’s why both the Turkish Stream and Akkuyu nuclear plant projects play a key role in the revitalization of bilateral relations," he added.

President Putin following the signing ceremony said that the agreement also envisions gas price discount for Turkey.

In addition, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller said that the annual capacity of each leg is estimated at 15 billion and 750 million cubic meters of natural gas.

Previously, the Russian side also announced that they are preparing proposals on the gradual lifting of an embargo on some agricultural goods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also a chance to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria, including joint efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Aleppo.

Putin said that Moscow and Ankara agreed to continue efforts to support the proposal of UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura to transfer Nusra Front militants from Aleppo to Idlib.

Russia's Roscosmos space corporation is ready to participate in launching Turkish telecoms satellites, Putin added.

This step will expand the cooperation between the two countries in the area of space exploration as well.

Erdogan stated that Ankara is sure that the process of normalization of relations between Russia and Turkey will continue at full pace.

"In terms of Turkish-Russian relations today we had a very efficient and rich full-time working day. As a result of our work, certain agreements have been signed. I am absolutely confident that the process of normalization of Turkish-Russian relations will continue at full pace," Erdogan said.

Putin and Erdogan meet last time at the G20 Antalya Summit in November 2015.