Kremlin calls meeting between Putin, Erdogan ‘constructive’

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku on Saturday was very constructive and the pause during its beginning was caused by the countries’ different approaches to covering the negotiations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. "The was no tension," Peskov said, confirming that "there was a hiccup indeed," as the leaders remained silent for some time waiting for journalists to take several photos of them before the talks began. The Russian presidential spokesman said the Turkish leader "never says anything, and this is not their practice to speak something ‘for the press,’ we have various traditions in this view." "There was a hiccup - whether to speak or not to speak," Peskov added. "This is not linked to tension, problems or any closed character of the meeting," the Kremlin spokesman said. "This was an ordinary and very detailed constructive conversation," Peskov said. The sides did not discuss the issue of the Armenian genocide and the Turkish side’s reaction to Putin’s visit to Armenia to attend the commemoration events in April, he said. Read more