Putin hosts Erdoğan for high-level talks

AP Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met in Moscow on March 10 for a bilateral high-level cooperation council summit. 

The summit, joined by cabinet ministers from both sides, marks the first such council meeting since relations were strained over Turkey's downing of a Russian jet in November 2015, which led to the cancelation of the subsequent meeting. It is the two leaders' fourth meeting in seven months during the normalization process since the jet crisis.

"We are actively working to solve the most acute crises, first of all in Syria," Putin said as he greeted Erdoğan at the start of the talks. 

"I'm very pleased to note, and few seemed to expect it, that our military and special services have established such efficient and close contact."

Erdogan noted that cooperation in building a prospective Russian natural gas pipeline and a nuclear power plant in Turkey had also regained pace.

The two countries brokered a cease-fire in December 2015 that helped reduce the scale of fighting between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the opposition, and they also co-sponsored two rounds of talks this year between al-Assad's government and its foes. A third round is set for next week.

Russia and Turkey coordinated their operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria. 

A Russian air raid last month accidentally killed three Turkish soldiers, but the incident did not derail the military coordination.

Earlier this week, the chief military officers from Russia, the United States and Turkey met in the Turkish city of Antalya in an apparent attempt to work out additional steps to prevent incidents.

Turkey's opposition to any...

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