PM Erdogan holds bilateral talks in Davos

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended a panel session with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian also in attendance. Speaking at the gathering, Erdogan proposed an enhanced Caucasus platform to contribute to peace in the region. "Turkey's aim is to contribute to peace, cooperation and stability in the region," he added. Afterwards, Erdogan met with Armenian President Serzh Sarksian for about 20 minutes. Erdogan also held bilateral talks with his Albanian and Russian counterparts Sali Berisha and Vladimir Putin, as well as Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Velez. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan also attended the Putin meeting. "Cooperation between Turkey and Russia is the key to solving our problems," Putin said afterwards. He expressed his pleasure at bilateral relations between Turkey and Russia, saying, "Economic and trade relations have been gradually rising despite the global crises." Erdogan said that noticeable progress in bilateral ties has been seen over the last six years.