MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he is hoping to conduct talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin before the end of this week.

"We have talks with Merkel towards the end of this week and with Putin at the weekend," Anadolu Agency quoted him as saying.

Putin and Erdogan last spoke on the phone on July 31. The Kremlin then noted that current issues of Russian-Turkish cooperation were considered.