Russian-Turkish cooperation reaches level of advanced partnership

ANKARA, December 1 /TASS/. Russian-Turkish cooperation has assumed the nature of multidimensional advanced partnership, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday after talks with Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. “As you see, we have signed a substantial package of documents,” Putin said adding that Turkey was one of Russia’s leading trading partners. Russia, in turn, is Turkey’s biggest foreign trade partner after Germany. “We have managed to overcome last year’s negative trend. Trade volumes are growing though this year’s growth has still been inconsiderable - 0.5%,” the Russian president said. “Reciprocal investments are also on the rise. We agreed that the governments of our two countries would work out concrete measures to stimulate the trade flows,” Putin stressed. Russia and Turkey meanwhile signed eight joint documents on cooperation in various branches of economy in the wake of the Putin-Erdogan meeting. Gazprom and Turkey’s BOTAS Petroleum Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding while the Russian and Turkish energy ministers put their signatures under the protocol of the 13th mixed inter-governmental Russian-Turkish commission for trade and economic cooperation. The Russian Energy Agency of the Russian Energy Ministry and the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources also signed a memorandum of understanding on energy efficiency, energy saving and renewable sources of energy. Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of the Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation and Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz sealed a memorandum of understanding on training staff for the nuclear power sector and related branches of industry. In addition to that, the Russian minister of economic development and the Turkish minister of economy signed a joint statement designed to promote trade, economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Turkey. Other documents include a memorandum of understanding in the sphere of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship between the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Turkish Small and Medium Size Development Organization; and a memorandum of understanding between the Russian Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Turkish Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in the field of labor, social security and employment. The Russian and Turkish justice ministers signed a Treaty between Russia and Turkey on reciprocal legal assistance in criminal cases and extradition. Read more