Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has underscored the importance of switching to national currencies in bilateral trade with Russia. He made these comments during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Monday.
“I believe that the fact that the heads of our central banks will meet here today is important from the point of view of a step towards the transition to national currencies in bilateral relations between us,” the Turkish president stated.
Putin, in turn, noted that the pace of trade development between the two nations remains positive and that economic cooperation is diversifying beyond the traditional sectors such as agriculture and energy.
“We are very pleased that the volume of our bilateral trade is currently $62 billion, and we are moving towards our goal of $100 billion,” Erdogan replied.
Despite geopolitical differences, Moscow and Ankara have been trying to deepen economic ties. In April, Putin and Erdogan agreed to encourage mutual investments and help Russian and Turkish businesses enter each other’s markets.
Last year, Türkiye and Russia signed a roadmap for economic cooperation that envisages bringing bilateral trade turnover to $100 billion annually. The two nations have also agreed to introduce the Russian ruble as a settlement currency in bilateral trade, including payment for Russian natural gas supplies.
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