ISTANBUL, Turkey — Russian President
Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart,
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Sunday pledged to
improve ties during a call, both sides said, after tensions mounted over drones
and NATO in recent weeks.
اضافة اعلان
Turkey, a
NATO member since 1952, has angered Moscow
by supplying combat drones to Ukraine that Russia fears could be used by Kiev
in its conflict with separatists in two eastern regions.
Putin and Erdogan "exchanged New Year's greetings
and summarized the main results of bilateral cooperation and confirmed the
desire to further intensify the mutually beneficial partnership between Russia
and Turkey", the Kremlin said in a statement about the leaders' phone
call.
Erdogan's office said both sides "discussed steps
to improve Turkish-Russian relations" and reiterated their desire to
develop cooperation "in all fields".
Last month, Putin criticized Kiev for deploying
Turkish-made drones in its conflict with pro-Moscow separatists.
Ankara says it cannot be blamed for Ukraine's use of
Turkish drones, adding if a state buys Turkish weaponry, it is no longer a
Turkish product but belongs to the country which buys it.
Turkish Foreign Minister
Mevlut Cavusoglu urged
Russia last week to drop "one-sided" demands and adopt a more constructive
approach in its standoff with Western powers and NATO over
Ukraine.
Russia wants NATO to provide Moscow with a binding
security guarantee and withdraw its forces to positions they held before a wave
of eastward expansion that began after the Soviet Union's collapse.
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