MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced concern over a decline in trade turnover with Slovenia and pointed to the need of giving a fresh impetus to bilateral relations.

"Our trade turnover has decreased two-fold in recent years, which is a source of concern for us," Putin said during the talks with his Slovenian counterpart, Borut Pahor.

The Russian president noted though that there was no decrease in bilateral trade in 2016. "The decline has stopped, and, of course, we need to take advantage of your visit to discuss how to start a positive trend in bilateral relations," he said.

Putin proposed to discuss both bilateral and regional issues during the meeting. He also recalled that this year marks 25 years of diplomatic relations between Russia and Slovenia.

For his part, Slovenia’s president raised the issue of the Ukrainian crisis. "As the head of a state that is a member of the EU and NATO, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss whether we can take any steps that would lead to peace in Ukraine, an end to hostilities and help establish greater confidence between Russia and the European Union," he said.

Pahor noted that regular meetings between the two countries’ leaders show that Slovenia and Russia are ready to develop bilateral relations.