The leaders of Russia and Turkey had their sixth meeting yesterday afternoon in Sochi on the Black Sea. Vladimir Putin welcomed Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying: "Indeed, we are very close, as you said, an hour and a half…". Moscow and Ankara this time tried to coordinate their clocks, "to inspect bilateral relations," said a spokesman for Russian President Dmitry Peshkov.
Tayyip Erdogan stressed that the restrictions are being lifted and that Turkish aubergines, tomatoes and pomegranates are returning to the Russian market. Regarding the S-400 missile system, the Turkish president explained: "We have agreed with Russia, the documents have been signed. There are some technical issues, we will discuss them together with experts from the Ministry of Defense. We want to take steps to implement it as soon as possible… ".
Regarding the strategically important construction project of the gas pipeline from Russia to Turkey, with a branch to the Turkish-Greek border, it was stressed that the construction works in Russian waters have been completed, the part of the Turkish exclusive economic zone remains, and according to The pipeline is planned to enter Turkish territory next year.
Most of the bilateral talks, which lasted more than four hours, were devoted to Syria, according to a Kremlin statement. The Syrian army, with the substantial contribution of the Russian forces, has regained control of the entire territory of the country and the question now is the post-war situation.
Erdogan spoke positively about the Putin-Trump joint declaration on Syria recently in Vietnam. He said he still trusted the Astana consultations initiated by Russia, Iran and Turkey, and did not oppose the convening of a national debate conference by all Syrian groups.