Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently on a visit to Moscow, expressed hope on Monday that his country would soon switch to transactions in national currencies with Russia in order to be protected from currency market "manipulations
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2019) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently on a visit to Moscow, expressed hope on Monday that his country would soon switch to transactions in national currencies with Russia in order to be protected from Currency market "manipulations.""I would like transactions in national currencies [with Russia] to be in place soon, so that we are able to protect ourselves from manipulations in currency markets," Erdogan said at a meeting with Russian and Turkish businesspeople in Moscow, which was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Erdogan praised Russian-Turkish energy cooperation, saying that joint projects were a "pillar" of the two countries' economic ties.
"The Akkuyu nuclear power plant, the TurkStream [gas pipeline] and the Blue Stream [gas pipeline] are all strategic long-term projects. We aim at completing the continental part of the TurkStream by the end of the year," Erdogan said.
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, while the second leg is expected to carry gas to Southern and Central Europe.
Putin confirmed at his joint press conference with Erdogan that the Turkish leader had touched upon the switch to transactions in national currencies with Russia.
"The Turkish president raised today the issue of using national currencies in our transactions more extensively. There are some other matters of mutual interest, and the implementation of all these plans will certainly contribute to development of our economic ties ... and positively influence our countries' social spheres," Putin said.
He praised the relations between Russia and Turkey as efficient and active, emphasizing progress in cooperation on the economy, energy and regional security. Putin added that the two countries were also developing their agricultural cooperation.
