Turkish parliament speaker meets Putin, highlights bilateral ties

MOSCOW

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş met with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of his four-day trip to Russia where he highlighted the importance of the growing nature of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries.

In a statement through his social media account after the meeting, Kurtulmuş expressed his gratitude to Putin for his courtesy, voicing hope that the meeting would further strengthen ties between Ankara and Moscow.

Putin, for his part, in a statement stressed: “We are very pleased that our relations with the Republic of Türkiye are developing in all areas, including parliamentary ones.”

Putin announced plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Kazan next month during the BRICS leaders’ summit. The statement comes as there are reports about Türkiye’s application to join the BRICS, an economic platform that brings together Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, along with several new members who joined this year.

He stressed the success of relations between Türkiye and Russia across various sectors.

“I would like to note that relations between Türkiye and Russia are developing very successfully in almost all areas: In the economy, in the social sphere, and through the Foreign Ministry. In general, we are good neighbors and work for the benefit of our peoples, our countries, and in general, everything is working out for us,” he said.

Putin added that there are certain issues requiring special attention and stated that they would exchange views on all areas during the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Kurtulmuş delivered a wide-ranging speech to the Federation Council, Russia's upper legislative chamber, touching on regional conflicts, bilateral relations and global governance reform.

Kurtulmuş warned that Israeli actions further worsen its record of crimes in the region.

"We are obliged to oppose the bloodshed of innocent people in Gaza and to stop Israel's aggressive government and approaches," he said.

Kurtulmuş said that a fully sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital would "definitely" be established and that the Israeli occupation would end after the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his "gang" are held accountable for their crimes.