FM Davutoglu: "Turkish-Russian ties are growing stronger and stronger"

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's visit to Turkey in May boosted bilateral relations between the two countries and helped contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in the region, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday. Speaking with the Russian Ria Novosti news agency and Voice of Russia radio, Davutoglu said the new High-Level Cooperation Council between Russia and Turkey will lay the foundation for strategic partnership between the two countries. "Russian-Turkish relations have reached a very high level," he said. "I am confident that the activity of the council as an intergovernmental mechanism of bilateral cooperation on a high level will lay a basis for the comprehensive strategic cooperation of our countries and attach a strong impulse to increase partnerships between them and countries in Eurasia, the Middle East, the Balkans and other regions." The council was established after an agreement was signed during Medvedev's visit to Ankara in May. He said the council's work will provide for all-around strategic cooperation between Moscow and Ankara. "The aim of this plan is to expand the interaction of the two countries in Eurasia," he explained. "In particular, we aim to study possible directions of cooperation for joint contributions to economic development and political stability in the post-Soviet region. In fact, this plan has become one of the turning points laying the foundation for positive changes in Russian-Turkish relations." Saying that Russia and Turkey have the potential for interaction in the same direction and in other regions, Davutoglu said the course of Turkish foreign policy is focused on regional security and stability and the establishment of a security belt in the area.