Medvedev to pay ‘key’ visit to Turkey in May

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gül, have confirmed that Medvedev will pay a visit to Turkey in May, the Kremlin press service announced, noting that both leaders agreed that this visit will be of “key” importance in the next period of Russian-Turkish bilateral relations.

Medvedev and Gül had a telephone conversation upon the latter’s initiative on Saturday when they exchanged views on the Caucasian region, while Gül expressed his appreciation for Russia’s contribution to the international efforts to achieve progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, a statement by the Kremlin press service said.

The both sides expressed satisfaction with the joint work in the Black Sea region and discussed European security issues, including the Russian initiative to develop a treaty on European security.

The central event in Russian-Turkish relations in the near future will be the planned visit by the Russian president to Turkey, the press service said, noting that the agreement on the visit planned for May was confirmed during the conversation.

The talk between Gül and Medvedev came days after Medvedev hosted Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort near Sochi last Monday for talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, a territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan.

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