Following the SCO summit, President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov took part in the meeting on the Russian side.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends,
I am very pleased to meet with you again. It has been some time since we last met, although we have kept our bilateral relations under close review.
Turkiye is one of Russia’s most privileged partners, both in international relations and in the economy. The Intergovernmental Commission is working actively, and thanks to your personal attention to the advancement of our relations, Mr President, the level of economic cooperation remains high.
Major joint projects are ongoing, one of them is the well-known Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, operating in Turkiye. You set Rosatom the target of launching the first unit this year – and it will be delivered; the company is on schedule.
There is also significant potential for deepening cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian spheres. The flow of Russian tourists to Turkiye is steadily increasing. In 2025, the number reached almost seven million – 6.9 million, to be precise.
Today we have an excellent opportunity to discuss these and all other topics that are undoubtedly of mutual interest.
I am very pleased to meet with you, Mr President.
President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan (retranslated): I also greatly value the opportunity to sit down with my friend, the Russian President, here today.
Turkish-Russian relations have indeed reached a remarkably high level compared to the same period in previous years.
Russian tourists – Russian citizens – are of great significance to our country, and this is a positive development. Today, our guests from Russia make up the bulk of the tourist flow to our province of Antalya.
Mr President made a very important point just now, because the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is indeed of great importance to the relations between our countries.
Indeed, we are already at the final stage of commissioning the first unit. We are very much looking forward to the completion of this construction and to the joint launch of the first unit. Once it is up and running, we will talk with you again about our future generating units and power plants.
We are continuing with these preparatory works, but alongside this – and this naturally applies to the economy, energy, tourism, and agriculture – we are also maintaining our dialogue and coordination across these areas.
Thank you very much.
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