Mr. Gedikli was commenting on President Erdogan’s proposal to replace the US dollar with the Turkish lira and Russian ruble in bilateral trade.
“The cooperation between our two countries is of vital importance to the entire region. We believe that the use of the lira and ruble in our bilateral trade will add a new dimension to our cooperation and help implement bilateral trade agreements,” Bülent Gedikli told Sputnik Turkey.
He added that Ankara also expected to sign a number of foreign policy agreements with Russia and mentioned the longtime global economic pivot to the East.
“That said, I feel that by complementing the positive climate of political cooperation with efficient economic partnership would have a very positive impact on the region. The use of the lira and ruble in bilateral trade would be extremely beneficial for the future cooperation between our two countries,” Bülent Gedikli told Sputnik Turkey.
“This will have a mutually strengthening effect on our economies, which we hope will also result in pertinent bilateral accords. In structural terms, our economies complement, rather than compete with each other,” Bülent Gedikli said.
He added that Turkey has what Russia needs and vice versa, so the use of national currencies would breathe new vigor into their cooperation in energy, tourism, industry, construction and investments.
“In this sense a transition to the lira and the ruble would be a crucial and extremely positive step” Mr. Gedikli emphasized.
