Peace in Syria depends on Turkey-Russia ties: Erdogan

SOCHI, Russia

Peace in Syria depends on relations between Ankara and Moscow, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday in a summit with his Russian counterpart.

Speaking in the resort city of Sochi in southern Russia alongside Vladimir Putin, Erdogan underlined the importance of his country's joint actions with Moscow in the context of the Syrian conflict.

For his part, Putin said that though his meetings with Erdogan were not always without problems, the institutions of their countries are able to reach resolutions between them.

He highlighted the significant role of cooperation between Ankara and Moscow in ensuring a truce secured last year after Azerbaijan liberated the Upper Karabakh region from neighboring Armenia's occupation, as well as a strong and permanent peace between the two Caucasian nations.

Touching on economic relations between Ankara and Moscow, Putin said Turkey's investment in Russia had reached $1.5 billion and Russia's in Turkey currently stood at $6.5 billion.

Major investment projects between the two countries continue as planned and bilateral trade between them has increased by 50% in the first nine months this year, making up for previous losses and achieving a major rise amid the coronavirus pandemic, said Putin at the investments in Sochi, where the meeting was taking place.

Turkish President Erdogan was accompanied on his working visit by the head of the National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

The closed-door meeting of the two leaders lasted for two hours and 45 minutes.

"We had a productive meeting with my colleague Putin and left Sochi," Erdogan said on Twitter after the summit came to a close.

Erdogan and Putin had last met face-to-face in the Kremlin last year in March.

*Dilan Pamuk, Ahmet Gencturk, Jeyhun Aliyev, Handan Kazanci, and Seda Sevencan contributed to this report from Ankara and Istanbul.