Erdoğan, Putin expected to meet on Sept 29 in Sochi

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet in Sochi on Sept. 29 to discuss the recent regional developments and bilateral relations.

Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov had already announced Erdoğan’s visit to Russia, but he did not give the date. According to the sources, Erdoğan’s one-day trip to the Black Sea resort town of Sochi will occur on Sept. 29, days after his attendance in the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York.

In their last phone call on Aug. 21, the two presidents reviewed the developments in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover of the control in the entire country.

Sources suggest that the main agenda of the two presidents will be Syria, where four Turkish soldiers were killed in an attack earlier this month in the Idlib province where Turkey and Russia are cooperating.

Turkey calls on Russia to fulfill its duties stemming from the March 2020 protocol that stipulates the continuation of the truce in the province. In a statement after the attack against the Turkish troops, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said: “There were agreements that were signed after our negotiations with the Russian Federation. We abide by these agreements. We have fulfilled our responsibilities, and we will continue to do so.”

“We expect our interlocutors to comply with these agreements and their responsibilities here,” he stated. “The cease-fire here must continue and stability must be ensured as soon as possible.”

Talks will also focus on Libya and Afghanistan as well as on all the aspects of the bilateral relations, sources informed.