Official website of the President of Russia

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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Dear Mr President!

I am glad to be able to meet with you and for the opportunity to discuss current Russian-Turkish relations. And although our meeting is taking place in another country, a country that is one of our friends, we can cover our entire agenda.

Our relations are developing consistently and confidently. We have recently taken a lot of important and interesting steps, as well as begun new projects. And even the fact that in recent months Russia has become one of Turkey’s main trading partners demonstrates how important our bilateral ties are.

It is not simply the fact that our trade is measured in tens of billions of dollars, but also the fact that we have stable friendly ties. We are implementing major cultural and educational events such as the years of national culture in Russia and Turkey. I think this is a good example of this kind of cooperation.

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet again and talk.

President of Turkey Abdullah Gul: (Translated from the Russian): Dear Mr President!

I'm also very happy that we have such a wonderful opportunity to meet with you in Astana. Despite the fact that I already congratulated you on the phone, I am pleased to be able to congratulate you personally on your election as President of Russia.

Cooperation between our two countries is developing in all fields. I am confident that we will be able to further develop our relations, especially since we have the political will to do so. We must make every effort to further develop our cooperation.

I am very pleased that I was able to meet with you personally and get acquainted.