ASTANA, July 3. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan are holding talks ahead of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana.

The Kremlin press service said earlier that Putin and Erdogan were expected to address all the sensitive issues between the two countries and thoroughly discuss trade and economic cooperation. The two leaders will also touch upon the situation in Ukraine and Syria, as well as upon the Russian president’s long-planned visit to Turkey.

Putin and Erdogan last met in September 2023. However, they have been holding regular telephone conversations.