Menu
Latest
Menu
Latest
Commentary

Erdogan: "Russia and Turkey have obligations in the region". Putin and Erdogan discussed Karabakh, Syria and Iraq at their meeting Friday.

22 November 2013

"Russia and Turkey have obligations in the region from the standpoint of Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, situation in Syria and development of the situation in Iraq," Turkish Prime Minister, Recip Tayip Erdogan said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday morning.

"There are basic steps that we must take, and the talks that we held on these topics allowed us to create a platform and a base for resolving the issues," added the Turkish leader.

Erdogan and Pution later participated in a session of the High Level Russian Turkish Co-operation Council.

Welcoming Erdogan to St Petersburg President Putin said:

"We have not met for quite a while, but even without our personal direct involvement, relations between Russia and Turkey continue their successful development. I think that you and I will certainly do nothing to hinder this development at our meeting today. On the contrary, it is our intention to help it even further, and I am sure that we can achieve this. We have good cooperation plans.

I want to thank you for accepting our invitation to come here for these consultations."

On his part Prime Minister Erdogan stated:

"I place great importance on today's talks, during which we will discuss current bilateral and international issues. I think that there are steps we can take and projects that we should undertake together. I am sure that we will discuss today the future possible joint steps we can take and outline plans for their implementation."

Turkey has for some time been trying to have an understanding with Russia on both the Caucasus as well as the Levant, but the Russian leadership has proved very elusive - willing to talk but hardly to co-ordinate positions. There is nothing to suggest that things are different this time round, though Turkish leaders hope for a minimum of common ground that may help break the impasse on some of the issues simmering on Turkey's borders.

source: commonspace.eu

photot: Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey and President Putin of Russia after their meeting in St Petersburg on 22 November 2013 (picture courtesy of the Press Service of the President of Russia).


 

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Armenian leader meets Putin in the Kremlin
Trending

Armenian leader meets Putin in the Kremlin

1 April 2026
Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, met at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Wednesday 1, April, with Russian president Vladimir Putin. The current state and prospects of Russian-Armenian strategic partnership and alliance, integration cooperation in the Eurasian region, and current issues on the regional agenda, in particular the development of economic and transport-logistics ties in the South Caucasus, were discussed, according to the Kremlin website. In his remarks before the meeting, Prime Minister Pashinyan said our relations with the Russian Federation are very deep, they are very important to us, and, in my opinion, they are developing dynamically in the context of the new realities in our region, when peace has finally been established between Armenia and Azerbaijan. And I think this has a positive impact on our relations with the Russian Federation, because for the first time since our independence, we have a railway connection with the Russian Federation. We import goods from Russia via Azerbaijan by rail. I hope we will also export in the near future. This, of course, strengthens our traditional economic ties, and it strengthens our ties within the Eurasian Economic Union. Regarding the European Union, of course, we know that, in principle, membership in the two associations is incompatible. But what we're doing and the agenda we have, at least for now, are compatible. That's a fact. And as long as there's an opportunity to combine these agendas, we will. And when processes develop to the point where a decision must be made, I'm confident that we, the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, will make that decision. Of course, in this context, our relations with the Russian Federation have never been and never will be in question, because, as I have already said, these ties and relations are very deep and not subject to discussion. (read the report in full by clicking the image at the top).

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov
Trending

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

15 January 2026
Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)
Murad Muradov
Lauri Nikulainen interviews Murad Muradov