Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan would discuss many issues at their meeting in Moscow
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that he and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan would discuss many issues at their meeting in Moscow.
"Here we are actively developing contacts through the foreign and defense ministries, as well as defense industry cooperation. That is a huge package of issues that we have to discuss and resolve," Putin said.
During the talks with Erdogan, the Russian president noted that Moscow and Ankara enjoyed good relations, with the defense ministries of the two countries maintaining active contacts and defense industry cooperation.
"We observe and state a good level of the development of our relations. Trade growth rate is 15 percent, the total [trade] volume has reached $25 billion," Putin stressed.
The president pointed at the ongoing implementation of joint Russian-Turkish projects such as the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and the TurkStream natural gas pipeline, also noting the extensive Russian-Turkish cooperation on the international matters.
The TurkStream twin-pipeline will have a maximum capacity of 31.5 billion cubic meters (1.1 trillion cubic feet) a year. The first leg will deliver Russian gas under the Black Sea to Turkey for local consumption starting this year. The second leg is expected to carry gas to Southern and Central Europe.
An intergovernmental cooperation agreement to build the Akkuyu plant was signed by Moscow and Ankara in April 2018. The plant's four 1,200-megawatt power units are each expected to produce about 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year. Turkey expects the plant's first unit to start operating in 2023.
