Putin, Erdoğan to meet for second time in two months

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay a visit to Russia’s Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Nov. 13 to meet with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Erdoğan and Putin had come together in Ankara late on Sept. 28 to discuss regional developments and bilateral relations in their fifth in-person meeting this year.

The two leaders frequently speak by phone, with the latest one on Oct. 29 during which they discussed bilateral relations including cooperation on energy projects and efforts to find a political solution in Syria.

Russia recently initiated a peace congress scheduled for Nov. 18 to reach a political settlement for the war-torn country, but postponed after Turkey protested against the invitation of the Syrian Kurdish side.

“Russia told us that the meeting has now been postponed and that the PYD [Kurdish Democratic Union Party] will not be invited,” Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın had told private broadcaster NTV in an interview.

The PYD has been backed by the U.S. and Russia in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). It has said it was invited to the meeting in Sochi.

Turkey views the PYD and its armed affiliate, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as offshoots of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist group by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.

Erdoğan will depart to Kuwait from Russia on Nov. 14.

The president is also expected to visit Greece and France in the upcoming months.