President Erdoğan meets with President Putin of Russia
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in Berlin where he will attend a summit on Libya at the invitation of Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel.
President Erdoğan and President Putin spoke to reporters prior to their meeting.
Noting that the multidimensional relations between him and President Putin based on sincere dialogue and mutual understanding play a significant role in the solution of problems in the region, President Erdoğan said the year 2019 was highly successful in terms of the bilateral relations between Turkey and Russia.
“We determinedly finalized projects such as S-400s which attract global attention without any concession on our national interests despite all the pressures we encountered. The construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, another major initiative of ours in the field of energy just like TurkStream, is also strategically important. It is of importance that there be no deviation in our goal to put its first reactor into operation in 2023,” President Erdoğan stated.
“HAFTAR’S BELLIGERENT ATTITUDE SHOULD BE BROUGHT TO AN END”
Stressing that joint efforts by Turkey and Russia enabled relative tranquility on the ground but that true benefits of these efforts will actually be reaped during the Berlin Summit, President Erdoğan said: “We are cognizant of the responsibility you assume and the efforts you exert regarding ceasefire. We, for our part, made great efforts to persuade Mr. Sarraj and we thank him very much since he fulfilled his responsibility during the Moscow Summit. After all, the Government of National Accord signed off on the Ceasefire Agreement in line with our advice even though it doesn’t meet all the expectations. Yet, Haftar, who didn’t sign the text, once again showed that he favors military, not political solution. The Berlin Summit should ensure the adoption of a ceasefire and the resumption of the political process in order for Libya to achieve peace and serenity. In addition, Haftar’s belligerent attitude should be brought to an end in order to enable the implementation of the other phases of the political process and settlement.”
