MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan agreed on Friday to boost cooperation in the transport, agriculture, finance and construction industries after a four-hour meeting.
Turkey mediated a deal signed by Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations in Istanbul last month in which grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports resumed after months of being blocked.
Putin and Erdogan stressed in the statement that there needed to be a full implementation of the Istanbul agreement, including the unimpeded export of Russia's grain, fertiliser and raw materials for their production. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters after the talks that they would switch part of the payments for Russian gas to roubles.
The two reiterated their determination to act in coordination and solidarity in the fight against all terrorist organizations in Syria.
Since 2016, Ankara has taken over hundreds of kilometers of land in northern Syria and targeted the Kurdish YPG militia despite Moscow's opposition.