Russia and Turkey will cooperate more closely in the field of transport, (agricultural) construction and finance. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Friday after a four-hour meeting in the southern Russian city of Sochi, a joint statement said.
The grain deal that Turkey and the United Nations recently negotiated with Ukraine and Russia was also discussed. The agreement, which is to ensure the safe passage of Ukrainian and Russian goods through the Black Sea and the Bosphorus, must be implemented “fully” and “unobstructed,” the statement said.
In addition, Turkey will partly pay for the Russian gas it imports in rubles instead of US dollars, the Russian news agency Interfax reported on the basis of statements by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. It is unclear what share will be paid in rubles. The move is remarkable, because Russia imposed the ruble requirement last spring only on “unfriendly countries” that purchase Russian gas. All EU member states are on that list, but the European Commission announced in April that it would not comply with the requirement. Turkey is not on the list.
Gas in rubles
More than two weeks ago, Putin and Erdogan also discussed the possible payment of Russian gas in rubles at a meeting in Tehran, Iran. Russia supplies about 26 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey every year, almost half of Turkey’s total gas imports. Russia also provides a quarter of Turkey’s crude oil and finances the construction of a major nuclear power plant.
The situation in Syria was also discussed on Friday. The statement said that both Russia and Turkey attach importance to preserving “political unity and territorial integrity” of Turkey’s neighbour. That is consistent with Russia’s position, as the country has been the main international mainstay of Bashar al-Assad’s regime since the start of the Syrian war. The relations between Ankara and Damascus, on the other hand, are very bad. Turkey occupies part of northern Syria.