MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia on March 10 at Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to attend the sixth meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council.
"We notice some significant and positive changes in the rapprochement process after the crisis has been overcome. I hope that the sincere and trustful position of the countries' leaders will only strengthen … The aim of the upcoming meeting at the highest level is to determine the new directions of how this relations can be restored at a more rapid pace,” Dirioz said at the Russian-Turkish public forum.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Putin plans to discuss the conflict settlement process in Syria and Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov's assassination in talks with Erdogan.
"There is an issue of political settlement, the issue of cooperation in the implementation of combat missions," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "This requires very close interaction and coordination."
Putin and Erdogan are expected to focus on a wide range of issues, including trade relations and joint energy projects, including the Turkish Stream gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
"Of course, the topic of great importance when the heads of state will communicate in a narrow format will be issues related to security in Syria, with the course of the investigation of the murder of our Ambassador Karlov in Ankara," Peskov stressed.
Andrei Karlov was shot and killed at an art gallery exhibition opening in Ankara on December 19. Three more people were injured in the shooting. The gunman was killed at the scene by the police. The Russian Foreign Ministry said it considered the attack a terrorist act.
The previous meeting of the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council, led by the countries’ presidents, took place in December 2014.
In June, following Turkey's apology to Russia for the November 2015 incident, the sides began a reconciliation process. In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would gradually lift the economic restrictions imposed on Turkey.
On October 10, Putin announced the removal of embargo on Turkish fresh and dried oranges, tangerines, peaches, nectarines, plums and sloes. The imports of tomatoes, apples, strawberries, zucchinis, pumpkins and most poultry products are still banned.
