Putin in conversation with Erdogan outlined the principal assessments of the situation around Ukraine
Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin press service reported.
Among other things, the sides discussed the situation in Ukraine.
In addition, they talked about a grain deal. The Kremlin stressed that the Istanbul agreements are comprehensive in nature and require removing obstacles for the supply of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the countries in need.
During the conversation, Erdogan said that thanks to joint efforts it was possible to supply more than 13 million tons of grain to the needy countries. According to him, it is now possible to work on the export of food and other goods within the grain corridor.
Putin and Erdogan also exchanged views on joint energy projects. In particular, they discussed the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey, taking into account the results of Gazprom head Alexei Miller’s recent visit to Istanbul.
The heads of states also appraised the expanding bilateral cooperation in various fields. Among other things, they focused on a record increase in trade turnover.
In addition, Putin and Erdogan discussed the settlement of the situation in Syria in the context of compliance with the provisions of the Sochi Memorandum 2019. The Turkish leader said that given the activities of the country’s banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party in northern Syria and “terrorist attacks” on Turkey, it is important to clear the border from terrorists to a depth of at least 30 kilometers. It is specified that the defense and foreign ministries of the two countries will continue to maintain close contacts on this issue.