Putin and Erdogan meet in Ashgabat

Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a meeting on the sidelines of the International Forum 'Peace and Trust: Unity of Goals for a Sustainable Future' in Ashgabat.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said noted the absence of significant problems in relations between the two countries.

The leaders continued their talks "in a very narrow circle," without their delegations present. The multifaceted and diversified nature of Russian-Turkish relations allows them to cope with "pressure from third countries" and difficulties in the international arena.

He noted that the leaders of Russia and Turkey had a detailed exchange of opinion on Ukraine at their meeting.

According to the spokesman, Putin and Erdogan have mutual invitations to visit Turkey and Russia, respectively.

Putin's visit to Turkey will take place when possible, but the two leaders "do not suffer from a lack of communication", Peskov stressed.

Russian-Turkish talks continued in a restricted format, but Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif later joined the meeting. 

After talks with Erdogan and Sharif, the Russian president also briefly spoke with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The most recent meeting in person between Putin and Erdogan took place on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in September. However, the presidents of Russia and Turkey maintain constant contact and regularly hold telephone calls. Their most recent telephone conversation was reported on November 24.