Erdogan may outline his proposals for Russia-West talks in Astana, says Kremlin aide
Yuri Ushakov stated that the two leaders are on good terms thanks to the fact that Turkey has not joined in the West’s illegal sanctions against Russia as a matter of principle
MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Russia expects that at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Astana, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will officially put forward his proposals for potential negotiations between Moscow and the West, Yury Ushakov, the Russian presidential aide, told reporters on Wednesday.
"Several initiatives are being discussed, mostly in the media. First, the Turks are offering their mediation. They might assume that in the case that there are some negotiations or meetings, they will be held on their territory, in either Istanbul or Ankara, I guess. We can expect that by then Erdogan will in some way have officially outlined those concerns which are circulating in the media now, since a variety of formats have been brought up, including Russia, the United States and the leading Western European nations," the Kremlin aide said.
Ushakov pointed out that those proposals had only been published by media outlets so far.
"It looks as if the Turks definitely will not miss their chance and they will propose something. As it seems to me, such a scenario is highly likely," the Russian presidential aide added.
Ushakov stated that the two leaders are on good terms thanks to the fact that Turkey has not joined in the West’s illegal sanctions against Russia as a matter of principle.
"The fact that Turkey takes such a stand gives an additional impetus for the expansion of trade and economic partnership," he added.
According to the Russian presidential aide, Turkey has been "quite successful" acting as a mediator on Ukraine-related issues. In this regard, he recalled that Ankara had arranged the agreements on implementing the grain deal.
"They say now that the Turks are likely to come up with other initiatives for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict, as there are various media reports that Turkey puts forward practical suggestions. I do not rule out that Erdogan will actively come back to this issue during the Astana talks. So we are going to have a very interesting and useful discussion," Ushakov concluded.