MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the improvement of Russian-Turkish relations as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s personal achievement.

At the beginning of talks with Erdogan, Putin recalled that the practice of their regular meetings has yielded positive results. In particular, bilateral trade increased more over ten months of 2018 compared to the twelve months of 2017.

"Last year, the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey grew by 30% to set a record of six million people. It shows how our countries’ citizens perceive a change in the Russian-Turkish relations and their quality," Putin said. "Mr. President, dear friend, it is largely your personal merit, your personal achievement, as you spend too much of your time on it."

The Russian president added that Russia and Turkey continue implementing major bilateral projects. "Everything is going well," he said. Moscow and Ankara look for solutions to regional security issues, cooperating closely on resolution of the Syria crisis, he added.

In turn, Erdogan stressed that relations between Russia and Turkey have a favorable effect on security in the Middle East. "In many spheres, including military, cultural and commercial the relations between our countries are developing. This certainly has a very positive effect on regional security," he said.