At the end of last week, the sixth meeting of the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council took place in Moscow, and before the meeting Vladimir Putin met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Kremlin. According to both Moscow and Ankara, the results of the meetings were encouraging.
Thus, according to the member of the Russian Council on International Affairs, Peter Stegny, the fourth recent meeting of the presidents had a special significance: "The traditional mechanism of cooperation created by our countries and peoples was launched ... Russia and Turkey are the two largest Eurasian powers. And in the new geopolitical situation, which is built in the context of the struggle around the new world order, Russia and Turkey have long-term joint interests. We are, I would say, the interface between Asia and Europe, the interpreter of the idea of the civilization of the East in the West and vice versa. In practical life, this takes the form of joint initiatives both in the field of energy transportation and in the context of the new Silk Road, which is being built between China and Europe."
Peter Stegny
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Turkey to Russia, Huseyin Dirioz, liked the idea of the interface: "Indeed, there is a task of connecting the East and West. This applies not only to politics and economy, it is also necessary to develop social relations. Benefits of our cooperation contribute to solving existing regional problems, in particular the Syrian settlement. This trilateral format, each of whose participants has its influence on the participants of the Syrian conflict, is important. Thanks to this format, we managed to ensure the ceasefire in Aleppo, ensure the evacuation of people and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe."
Huseyin Dirioz
Speaking about economic interaction, the ambassador said: "The leaders of the two countries ordered to bring the trade turnover up to $100 billion. In recent years, it has amounted to $38 billion. However, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to remove the existing limitations. Some restrictions on supplies of fruits and vegetables have already been lifted, but we consider those measures are insufficient. We hope that the sectoral restrictions and restrictions related to the requirement of working visas for Turkish citizens will be lifted."
