Erdogan to Meet Putin in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: EPA/Ivan Sekretarev)

ISTANBUL (Hurriyet Daily News)””Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan is set to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in St. Petersburg on August 9 as the two countries continue to improve their once-strained relations.

The visit marks a first since last November when Turkey downed a Russian fighter along its border with Syria and is also ErdoÄŸan’s first foreign visit after a failed coup attempt on July 15 in Turkey.

The Turkish presidency on August 8 said that the meeting between the two presidents was expected to speed up the normalization process.

Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency on August 7 before his visit, ErdoÄŸan said he expects talks with Putin will open “a new page”