Turkey, Russia on path toward forging strategic partnership

Turkey and Russia will set up a high-level strategic cooperation working group on Wednesday when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pays a working visit to Moscow. Accompanied by five Cabinet members and a group of businessmen, the prime minister aims to boost bilateral relations, especially in the economic area. Prime Minister Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will discuss ways to strengthen strategic and economic ties during a two-day working visit later this week in Russia. During their meeting, the two leaders plan to establish a high-level strategic cooperation working group while energy will also be at the top of the agenda, Russian diplomatic sources said. "They are dominant actors and are strategic partners in the region. Russia wants to export its energy through a more secure route while Turkey is keen on strengthening its position as an energy corridor. It’s a win-win situation," a Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. The working group will be co-chaired at the prime ministerial level while other ministers coordinate the meetings with the participation of senior bureaucrats. "It is a clear sign that the cooperation will go further as a result of mutual respect," the same official said. Erdogan will meet some 300 Turkish entrepreneurs at a dinner on Tuesday night before holding talks with President Dimitry Medvedev and Putin the following day. Russia is a major market for Turkish exporters and contracting groups but they such business has suffered due to the aftermath of the Georgian War of 2008. Turkey and Russia largely tackled problems in customs, food exports and transportation in August 2009 when Putin made a surprise visit to Ankara to request permission to conduct feasibility studies on the South Stream gas pipeline projected to run under Turkish waters. "We’re looking for a mechanism to prevent any more crises and put the relations on a sound footing,” anonymous source at the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Russia, the world’s biggest energy exporter, will carry its crude oil through a Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline currently being constructed from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean port. Turkey is soon to announce two tenders for nuclear power plants for which Russia’s Atomstroy is said to be a potential bidder. The officials are also expected to review the natural gas purchase agreement that expires in 2011.