Russia and Turkey relations are currently in a phase of mature partnership, they are based on pragmatism, respect of each other's interests, as well as the principles of good neighborliness, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday.
The top Russian diplomat explained that the main problem was that Kiev had flatly refused to resolve the problem of demining Ukrainian ports.
“If now they [Kiev authorities] have changed their attitude, then there will be no difficulties on our part, so let's see how the preliminary agreements that we discussed yesterday and today will be embodied in practical deeds,” Lavrov said.
The Russian minister noted that the countries traditionally prioritize the growth of cooperation in the energy sector. "The construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, is proceeding as planned. Cooperation on the use of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline is developing. All of these actions are being carried out on time and in accordance with the presidents' agreements," he said.
According to the diplomat, transitioning to national currencies in mutual settlements between Russia and Turkey is well underway. "We have a good opportunity to switch to using national currencies for mutual settlements. This process is already well underway. We are also discussing the use of the Russian Mir payment card in Turkey, which will certainly restore tourist flows to pre-pandemic levels. The record was at around 7 million tourists per year, last year this figure was 4 million, and it continues to grow," he said.
Lavrov and Cavusoglu also discussed developing ties in the trade, economic, and investment spheres. "The trade turnover in January-March in the first quarter of this year doubled and reached almost $14 bln," he added.
