Commercial and military cooperation: Turkish prime minister arrives in Moscow

06.12.2016
Russia
Turkey

Prime Minister of Turkey, Binali Yildirim, is paying a two-day visit to Moscow. Yildirim is going to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 6th. During their talks, issues of developing cooperation in the trade-economic sphere are planned to be discussed.

Agenda

A number of important issues for Turkey are going to be on the agenda, including lifting the ban on imports of vegetables, particularly tomatoes. In addition, conducting trade operations in national currencies, the Russian ruble and Turkish lira, the creation of free trade zones, and the tourism sector will be also discussed. Moreover, over the course of these bilateral talks, attention will also be paid to the fight against the terrorist organization of Gülen, the situation in Syria and Iraq, as well as the “Euphrates Shield” operation. 

An important step

On the eve of the meeting, the media reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had signed an agreement to begin the construction of Turkish Stream. This important gas pipeline should become a strong economic link that will connect these two countries. The project was shelved after the destruction of the Russian SU-24 at the end of 2015 and rebuilt after the normalization of relations a year later.

Eurasian turn

After the events of July 2016, when Turkey was on the verge of a coup, the government abruptly changed its military-political and economic course from the Euro-Atlantic to the Eurasian one. Hence why EU countries and the US have begun to put pressure on Ankara. However, the fact, that the Turkish prime minister has arrived in Russia with such a large list of topics for discussion shows the serious intention of the Turkish leadership to fundamentally change its position in the world.

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Yildirim