MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. While the date of a face-to-face meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has yet to be coordinated, there is no pause in bilateral communication as the two leaders talk over the phone quite often, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"Indeed, the date [of a potential meeting] has not been coordinated yet. The reason is we [recently] held the [presidential] election, and arrangements are currently underway for the inauguration. Erdogan, too, has a busy agenda. Therefore, sometimes it is not easy to schedule a meeting," Peskov explained.
However, this does not mean that Putin and Erdogan have taken a pause in summit meetings, as they hold phone talks quite often instead, the Russian presidential spokesman added. "Of course, [the two leaders] mostly discuss bilateral relations. We have a well-built economic relationship and a lot of joint projects. Unfortunately, the situation around our countries leaves much to be desired," he lamented.
Earlie, Erdogan confirmed that he had reached agreement with Putin to receive him in Turkey but that no date had been set yet for a potential visit.