Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayip Erdogan will meet on August 9 in Saint Petersburg, Russia to start a new era in Turkey-Russia ties, following months of tension due to the shooting down of a Russian warplane by the Turkish Air Forces in November.

Following Erdogan’s letter to Putin in late June to express his deep sorrow over the downing of the Russian jet and the killing of one Russian pilot, Putin informed the Cabinet on June 29 to begin the process of normalization of relations with Ankara.

Turkish ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said that presidents of Russia and Turkey will outline roadmap for the development of relations between the two countries in the upcoming meeting. “Leaders will discuss the full range of available issues. First, the negotiations will be held face-to-face, and then between the delegations,” he told RIA Novosti.

The ambassador called the meeting historic. "I can quite confidently say that this is a historic meeting We have for almost a month to prepare for it," he said, adding that Russian-Turkish relations in a global context are particularly important, and they will be continued.

“Our position is that both Russia and Turkey have a special status and no matter what the conditions are on global agenda, it is a special situation and the importance of our countries must be maintained. Of course, even in the face of political rollback, Turkey is a special country for Russia, as well as Russia for Turkey,” Yardim stressed.

Moscow and Turkey are also holding negotiations on simplification of visa regime.

“Negotiations on facilitation of visa regime are underway. “It's not even the negotiations, but contacts and exchange of views. We have not yet designated any specific date, but we express our position, our desires, and our expectations,” he said. “We would be very pleased of any progress in this regard. Our position is that the Turkish citizens should learn more about Russia, whereas Russian get better acquainted with Turkey.

Another theme for discussion between the two presidents will be Turkish stream pipeline project, the ambassador emphasized, noting that the meeting could give impetus to the implementation of this and other projects in the energy sector.

The diplomat recalled that Turkish Stream as a project emerged during a visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey last year.

In December 2014 Russia announced the rejection of the "South Stream", [which should pass through Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary], in favor of a new Turkish Stream gas pipeline due to the unconstructive position of EU. However, this project was frozen on the background of the cooling of political relations between Moscow and Ankara.

"The project is of interest not only for two countries but also third countries and other markets. The project is at an initial stage and all the aspects and details are under discussions. At the moment, the parties have not started formal part as signing of any documents. I do not know the context of discussion of the Turkish stream on August 9, but energy issues and these projects will be discussed for sure,” he said.

The ambassador also expressed his confidence that the meeting of the Russian and Turkish presidents "will give an additional impetus not only to Turkish Stream project, but all areas of the two states cooperation".

Umit Yardim also noted that Ankara is interested in the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) and is firm in its implementation.

"The energy sphere is one of the most important for our countries, this applies to both the supply of Russian natural gas and oil,” he said.

The intergovernmental agreement between Russia and Turkey on cooperation in the fields of construction and operation of the country's first NPP Akkuyu near the city of Mersin in southern Turkey was signed in 2010.

He confirmed that the implementation of Akkuyu NPP and Turkish Stream are of great importance for Turkey.

"With specific regard to the Akkuyu project, we are very happy to implement it and relevant work is underway. Development of nuclear energy has an important perspective for Turkey's energy policy, and we continue to move decisively towards the realization of this project,” he noted.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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