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Monday Morning, Lebanon
Jan 17 2005
Turkey, russia: Celebrating booming trade
President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan at Putin's country residence outside Moscow. Bilateral
commercial ties `growing in accordance with the best possible
scenario'
President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan
last week celebrated booming trade relations between the two former
Cold War foes during Kremlin talks focused on energy and military
affairs.
Putin -- who invited Erdogan for a private dinner at his lavish
suburban Moscow estate evening -- told the Turkish prime minister
that economic ties were growing in accordance with the best possible
scenario as old tension waned.
Erdogan, accompanied by a group of 600 businessmen, was paying a
return visit to Moscow after Putin in December became the first
Russian leader to appear in Turkey in 32 years.
`Our most optimistic forecasts about economic cooperation have come
true', Putin told Erdogan as the two sat around a small table with
their interpreters in the Kremlin's gilded oval reception hall.
`According to our forecasts, trade volume could reach 15 billion
dollars [annually] very soon', Putin said.
Erdogan had forecast bilateral trade reaching up to 25 billion
dollars by 2007 on his arrival to Moscow.
Trade between the two countries reached 10 billion dollars last year
to make Russia Turkey's second-largest trading partner after Germany.
NTV television reported that Putin was `surprised' to hear the news.
The two Black Sea states have a raft of diplomatic disagreements that
the two sides try to hide at public meetings at which prized economic
trade -- in both private and public sectors -- takes center stage.
Both sides had previously accused the other of hiding enemy rebels --
Moscow charges that Chechen guerrillas hide in Turkey and Ankara
counters that its independence-driven Kurdish minority finds support
in Russia.
Diplomatic ties have also been complicated by Armenia: a former
Soviet republic which remains a close Moscow regional ally but which
demands that the world accept that Turkey committed `genocide'
against its people during World War I.
But Putin made it clear he thought these disputes paled in comparison
to the size of potential trade.
Turkey relies heavily on Russia's natural gas supplies, which run
through the Blue Stream pipe under the Black Sea.
Ankara had already negotiated a discount in 2003 for the gas supplies
and Turkish media reports said it was hoping to do the same for the
coming year.
Putin said vaguely last week that an agreement on an increase in gas
supplies had been reached but made no mention of the price.
He also tried to appease his guest by saying he would press the
international community to speed up its effort to lift an
international blockade on the unrecognized Turkish-controlled
northern third of Cyprus.
The Russian leader said he recently spoke to UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan about `plans for developing economic cooperation with the
northern part of Cyprus and the lifting of its economic blockade'.
It remained unclear however what military agreements may have been
struck by the two sides. Putin said only that `we have had previous
plans concerning military-technological cooperation'.
Erdogan replied that `we will have a chance to discuss the expansion
of military-technological cooperation' before reporters were ushered
out of the Kremlin hall.
Erdogan later attended a meeting of Russian and Turkish businessmen
and inaugurated a Turkish Trade Center -- a 9,000-square-meter
complex of shops and businesses -- in downtown Moscow.
Jan 17 2005
Turkey, russia: Celebrating booming trade
President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan at Putin's country residence outside Moscow. Bilateral
commercial ties `growing in accordance with the best possible
scenario'
President Vladimir Putin and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan
last week celebrated booming trade relations between the two former
Cold War foes during Kremlin talks focused on energy and military
affairs.
Putin -- who invited Erdogan for a private dinner at his lavish
suburban Moscow estate evening -- told the Turkish prime minister
that economic ties were growing in accordance with the best possible
scenario as old tension waned.
Erdogan, accompanied by a group of 600 businessmen, was paying a
return visit to Moscow after Putin in December became the first
Russian leader to appear in Turkey in 32 years.
`Our most optimistic forecasts about economic cooperation have come
true', Putin told Erdogan as the two sat around a small table with
their interpreters in the Kremlin's gilded oval reception hall.
`According to our forecasts, trade volume could reach 15 billion
dollars [annually] very soon', Putin said.
Erdogan had forecast bilateral trade reaching up to 25 billion
dollars by 2007 on his arrival to Moscow.
Trade between the two countries reached 10 billion dollars last year
to make Russia Turkey's second-largest trading partner after Germany.
NTV television reported that Putin was `surprised' to hear the news.
The two Black Sea states have a raft of diplomatic disagreements that
the two sides try to hide at public meetings at which prized economic
trade -- in both private and public sectors -- takes center stage.
Both sides had previously accused the other of hiding enemy rebels --
Moscow charges that Chechen guerrillas hide in Turkey and Ankara
counters that its independence-driven Kurdish minority finds support
in Russia.
Diplomatic ties have also been complicated by Armenia: a former
Soviet republic which remains a close Moscow regional ally but which
demands that the world accept that Turkey committed `genocide'
against its people during World War I.
But Putin made it clear he thought these disputes paled in comparison
to the size of potential trade.
Turkey relies heavily on Russia's natural gas supplies, which run
through the Blue Stream pipe under the Black Sea.
Ankara had already negotiated a discount in 2003 for the gas supplies
and Turkish media reports said it was hoping to do the same for the
coming year.
Putin said vaguely last week that an agreement on an increase in gas
supplies had been reached but made no mention of the price.
He also tried to appease his guest by saying he would press the
international community to speed up its effort to lift an
international blockade on the unrecognized Turkish-controlled
northern third of Cyprus.
The Russian leader said he recently spoke to UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan about `plans for developing economic cooperation with the
northern part of Cyprus and the lifting of its economic blockade'.
It remained unclear however what military agreements may have been
struck by the two sides. Putin said only that `we have had previous
plans concerning military-technological cooperation'.
Erdogan replied that `we will have a chance to discuss the expansion
of military-technological cooperation' before reporters were ushered
out of the Kremlin hall.
Erdogan later attended a meeting of Russian and Turkish businessmen
and inaugurated a Turkish Trade Center -- a 9,000-square-meter
complex of shops and businesses -- in downtown Moscow.