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Erdogan confirms he wants to hold talks with Putin

According to Erdogan, a crisis in the Russian-Turkish relations may make somebody happy, but only two countries will be adversely affected
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan EPA/DENIZ TOPRAK
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
© EPA/DENIZ TOPRAK

ANKARA, November 27. /TASS/. Turkey and Russia have great potential for cooperation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday speaking in the city of Bayburt.

"I want to discuss the current situation with the Russian leadership. A forum will be held in Paris soon. I think Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend it. We will be able to discuss all our issues. I want us to hold talks," he said. According to Erdogan, "a crisis in (the Russian-Turkish) relations may make somebody happy, but only two countries will be adversely affected."

The Turkish president said though that he disagreed with Putin’s statements made after the Russian leader’s meeting with French President Francois Hollande.

According to Putin, Russia did not deploy its air defense means in Syria because it did not expect Turkey to attack. "It could not even occur to us that we could receive a strike from a country, which we used to consider our ally," the Russian leader said.

Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters earlier on Friday that Erdogan had requested a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the past two days. Also, a formal request came through the Foreign Ministry for a meeting with the Russian leader at the UN climate conference on November 30.

"I can say that there were requests for a telephone conversation from Erdogan over the past two days. I can also say that our president was briefed on this issue," Ushakov said.

"Yesterday, some Turkish media reported that Erdogan had asked for a meeting with our president in Paris, the president was briefed on this, as (presidential spokesman) Dmitry Pskov said," Ushakov noted. When asked about the Kremlin’s response to these enquiries, Ushakov said, "Our response boils down to the fact that our country’s leadership had been briefed on the Turkish side’s requests for a telephone conversation and the possible meeting at the climate summit in Paris."