Istanbul Becomes the Main Platform for Russia-Ukraine Negotiations: Shoigu

"Istanbul is becoming the main platform for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The Istanbul platform is emerging as the primary venue for negotiations in all areas related to the Black Sea, the Black Sea deal, and the grain agreement. And now, the Russia-Ukraine negotiations are taking place here," stated Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu during a meeting with Secretary General of the Turkish National Security Council, Oka Memiş.

Shoigu expressed gratitude to Memiş for participating in the international meeting of high-ranking representatives dealing with security issues, clarifying that this was his first visit to Moscow.

According to Shoigu, "the Russian-Turkish political dialogue is actively developing in all directions." He added, "We are connected to Ankara through the successful implementation of major joint projects in trade, economic, and energy sectors."

According to Shoigu, the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation is "largely determined by the intensity of trustful dialogue between the leaders of the two countries; Presidents (of Russia) Putin and (of Turkey Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan regularly communicate over the phone."