The Russian President pointed to the destructive role of the West, pumping Ukraine with weapons and providing it with target designationMOSCOW, January 5.
/tass/. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in a telephone conversation with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized the destructive role of the West pumping Ukraine with weapons and providing it with target designation. This was reported by the Kremlin's press service.
"The situation around Ukraine is affected. On the Russian side, the destructive role of Western states is emphasized, pumping the Kiev regime with weapons and military equipment, providing it with operational information and targeting," the message says.
At the same time, the Kremlin added, in the light of Erdogan's readiness for Turkish mediation for a political settlement of the conflict, "Putin reaffirmed Russia's openness to a serious dialogue - provided that the Kiev authorities fulfill the well-known and repeatedly voiced requirements and take into account new territorial realities."
In addition, Putin and Erdogan discussed the Istanbul agreements on the export of Ukrainian grain and unblocking the supply of food and fertilizers from Russia. "The need for a conscientious integrated approach was emphasized, implying the elimination of all barriers to Russian exports," the message reads.
Energy projects
Putin and Erdogan noted the priority importance of such joint projects as the creation of a gas hub in Turkey.
"The issues of further expansion of trade and economic ties, primarily in the energy sector, were discussed. The priority importance of the implementation of such strategically significant joint projects as the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey and the construction of the Akkuyu NPP was noted," the message reads.
In addition, the leaders exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the New Year and agreed to continue contacts at various levels.
As the Turkish side reported earlier following the conversation, during the conversation, Erdogan announced plans to finalize Ankara's roadmap for the creation of a gas hub as soon as possible. He also noted that "as part of the creation of the natural gas center, the relevant infrastructure has been strengthened and work in this direction continues."
The Syrian settlement
Putin and Erdogan, among other things, expressed hope that the continuation of contacts on Syria in a trilateral format will help resolve the situation in that country.
"Attention is paid to the prospects of the Syrian settlement. A positive assessment was given to the meeting of defense ministers held in Moscow in December 2022 with the participation of the heads of the intelligence services of Russia, Turkey and Syria. The hope was expressed that the development of contacts in such a trilateral format will contribute to a cardinal improvement of the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, including the restoration of its territorial integrity, the solution of the refugee problem and the tasks of combating international terrorist structures," the message reads.
As the Turkish side reported earlier, Erdogan, in a conversation with Putin, drew attention to the need for Syria to take political steps to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus.
In December, Erdogan said that he had proposed to Putin to hold a trilateral meeting with the participation of the Syrian president. According to the Turkish leader, this summit should be preceded by negotiations at the level of representatives of the special services, defense and foreign ministers. The talks of the heads of the defense departments of the three countries took place on December 28 in Moscow. The meeting of foreign Ministers may take place in the second half of January.
Relations between Ankara and Damascus have worsened since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were then severed.