Russian top diplomat in Ankara for bilateral, regional talks

ANKARA

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on April 7 in the Turkish capital Ankara, in which bilateral political, trade and energy issues will dominate the agenda along with regional developments regarding the war in Ukraine and civil war in Syria.

“During the visit, bilateral and regional issues will be discussed,” read a brief statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 6.

Contrary to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement regarding the content of the Ankara talks between Lavrov and Çavuşoğlu.

“Despite the aggravation of the international situation, the Russian-Turkish political dialogue, primarily at the level of the heads of the two states, continues,” the statement said, citing face-to-face meetings and telephonic conservations between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as between the two foreign ministers.

“During the visit, a wide range of topical regional and international issues will be discussed. It is necessary to conduct a ‘synchronization of watches’ on the situation in Ukraine, in the Trans Caucasus, in the region of the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, and in the Black Sea region,” the statement underlined.

The ministers will exchange views on the current state of affairs in the Ukrainian crisis, and discuss the principles and ways of a peaceful settlement of the conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“The situation with the implementation of the ‘grain deal’, extended by the Russian side as a gesture of goodwill for another 60 days, will be discussed. In particular, with the help of Turkish partners, we intend to achieve a comprehensive application of these agreements in terms of not only the supply of Ukrainian grain to world markets but also unblocking the access of international economic operators to Russian agricultural products and fertilizers,” the ministry informed.

The foreign ministers will pay increased attention to the normalization of Syrian-Turkish relations launched in Moscow, it said, recalling that the deputy foreign ministers of Türkiye, Syria, Russia and Iran held a meeting on April 3 and 4.

“Joint work on such strategic projects as the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Plant and the operation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline will be touched upon. At the end of April, the ceremony of delivery of nuclear fuel to the first power unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is planned,” the statement said.

Erdoğan has said in an interview that Putin may come to Türkiye to attend the ceremony in the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant on April 27.