Astana, Jul 3 (EFE).- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday encouraged his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to visit Turkey “as soon as possible” during a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana.
“I expect you as soon as possible, Mr. President, in my country,” Erdogan told Putin, who in turn promised the Turkish leader that he would come “without fail.”
The Turkish leader also expressed satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations, despite the “difficulties of the moment.”
“We have seen a slight decrease in the volume of trade recently, but it remains at a fairly high level of $55 billion,” Putin noted.
Erdogan, Putin agree to boost trade
Erdogan, for his part, said that the current goal was to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion.
The Kremlin chief added that all major projects jointly implemented by Moscow and Ankara were being carried out according to agreed timelines.
“There are no changes here,” he assured.
Putin also mentioned Russian-Turkish cooperation in tourism, recalling that only last year, about seven million Russians visited Turkey.
At the end of 2023, plans for Putin to visit Turkey were announced, but the trip never took place. The Kremlin chief last visited Turkey in January 2020.
The SCO, created in 2001, currently includes China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Belarus is expected to become its tenth member during the summit, which begins Wednesday with an informal dinner. It continues the following day with a meeting between bloc members and friendly countries. EFE