Turkish President Erdogan meets Russia’s defense minister in Istanbul
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has received Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu in Istanbul, the Turkish presidential press service said in a statement.
The meeting took place in Istanbul’s Tarabya Presidential Residence, the press office said.
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Details concerning the negotiations between the Turkish president and Russian defense chief haven’t been shared with the media.
President Erdoğan Receives Russian Defence Minister Shoiguhttps://t.co/r40gR1QgaLpic.twitter.com/BGOzJO6nxE
— Turkish Presidency (@trpresidency) July 2, 2017
Russia-Turkey relations had been strained after Turkey downed a Russian jet near the Syria–Turkey border in November of 2015. Moscow imposed a number of economic sanctions on Ankara in response. Erdogan eventually apologized to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the incident by phone. Following the conversation, the countries began normalizing their ties.
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In March of this year, Turkey’s military chief of staff, General Hulusi Akar, hosted a meeting of the heads of the US and Russian armed forces in the southern Turkish province of Antalya, where the top brass discussed security issues in Syria and Iraq.
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In May, Russia, Turkey, and Iran adopted a memorandum on the creation of four safe zones in Syria during peace talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana. The de-escalation zones proposed by Russia aim to separate extremist groups, including terrorists from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Al-Nusra Front (rebranded as Jabhat al-Nusra), from the moderate opposition.
