Russia’s Putin meets with Turkish PM Erdogan to discuss bilateral trade

Global Business

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara on Monday. Despite differences on regional issues such as Syria and Ukraine, the two leaders chose to focused on their joint goal of tripling bilateral trade by 2020.

Russia will increase its natural gas supply and reduce the price, benefiting Turkey which currently depends on Russia for 65 percent of its energy imports. Meanwhile, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom announced a massive gas pipeline project that will travel through Turkey, bypassing Ukraine and giving Russia access to the southern European market.

Monday’s talks came as the two leaders remain divided on a number of foreign policy issues, most notably Syria. Putin stands virtually alone in defending Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Erdogan has expressed concerns over the fate of the Tatar community in Russia-annexed Crimea.

CCTV America’s Natalie Carney reported this story from Istanbul.
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