Putin, Erdogan to restore trust in key visit

TERT.AM
16:47 – 02.12.12

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to begin a long-awaited
visit to Turkey on Monday amid irreconcilable differences over Syria,
but the rift is unlikely to undermine both countries’ resolve to
maintain bilateral cooperation, Sunday’s Zaman reported.

Putin visits Turkey for the third meeting of the High-Level Strategic
Cooperation Council. The Russian leader will be hosted in Istanbul,
per Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request that the meeting
take place in Istanbul. As part of his one-day visit to Turkey, Putin
will also be meeting with President Abdullah Gül.

After one-on-one as well as delegation meetings, there are to be more
than five accords signed, covering the areas of economy, culture and
finance. Both Erdogan and Putin, who will also give a joint press
conference, will meet with more than 70 businessmen and CEOs that
evening at a dinner given in honor of the purchase of Deniz-bank by
the Russian Sberbank.

At the Erdogan-Putin summit, foreign policy differences that have
emerged as a result of differing approaches to both the Arab Spring
and the Syria situation will be discussed. The foundation of the
visit, though, will lie in steps to be taken in concrete areas such as
trade, economy, finance and energy.