Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, on April 3, 2018. (Xinhua/Turkish Presidential Palace)
ANKARA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Russia held High-Level Cooperation Council meeting on Tuesday, attended by the presidents of the two countries in order to enhance bilateral relations and two sides signed four agreements for this end.
During a joint press conference after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia will accelerate delivery of S-400 defense systems to Turkey, which was initially planned for 2020.
Erdogan said two countries have finalized the deal for the purchase of S-400 missile defense systems, adding that Russia has proved its sincerity by accepting an earlier delivery.
Russian President also said relations between two countries are developing "step by step."
Trade and economic relations were the focal point of meetings in Ankara, he stated.
"Relations with Turkey are constructive," Putin said, noting that trade volume between two countries was boosted in 2017.
Erdogan welcomed Putin for making his first foreign trip to Turkey after his election victory in March. "This is the best expression for the state of Turkey-Russia relations," Erdogan said.
Political dialogue between two countries is reflected in bilateral economic relations, he said, adding that total volume of bilateral trade has reached to 22 billion U.S. dollars.
Some 4,7 million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2017 and they expect this figure to reach 6 million in 2018, said the Turkish president.
The work on the second line of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline through Turkey was continuing rapidly, he stated.
Erdogan reiterated that Turkey wants to lift mutual visa requirements with Russia. But Russia is not eager to take such a step on the argument of security reasons.
The issue of Syria was part of talks and the two presidents discussed political solution in the war-torn country. Two leaders stressed that Turkey and Russia will cooperate on Syria crisis.
Erdogan said he informed Putin about Turkish army's ongoing offensive in Syria's Afrin against Kurdish militia.
In a sign of the importance of the partnership, Putin's visit to Turkey is his first trip abroad since he won a historic fourth presidential mandate in March.
The groundbreaking ceremony of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, was held earlier the day with the participation of Turkish and Russian presidents via video teleconference from capital Ankara.
During the video teleconference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, "The successful implementation of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will be a symbol of the dynamic development of Turkish-Russian partnership."
Ankara-Moscow relations were tested by a severe crisis for Turkey's downing a Russian jet on the Syrian-Turkish border in 2015. Strains have been eased as the two sides began a reconciliation process in 2016 following Turkey's apology.
The normalization process stood trial over the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Ankara Andrey Karlov in an armed attack December 2016.
But Putin called the assassination a "provocation" to undermine relations between Turkey and Russia as well as the efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis.
Russia and Turkey prioritized cooperation in Syria amid the latter's strained relations between its Western allies, particularly with the U.S. over the issue of People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara sees as an offshoot of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
