ANKARA - Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Monday that they would take up opportunities to develop cooperation between Turkey and Russia on every field in their meetings in Russia.
Gul told reporters prior to his departure for Russia that his visit would be the first official visit from Turkey to Russia on foreign ministers level since 1996.
Stressing that relations between Turkey and Russia have developed on every field in the period after the Soviet Union collapsed, Gul said that his visit to Russia had importance within that scope.
Noting that radical changes and developments which affected global balances happened in the region, Gul said, ''high-ranking contacts between Turkey and Russia, which are two important countries on regional and global level, provide an opportunity in evaluating direct exchange of views and cooperation opportunities within the process of solving bilateral, regional and multilateral problems.''
Noting that they would take up opportunities to develop cooperation between Turkey and Russia on every field, Gul said that they aimed to increase cooperation in economic and commercial fields and interparliamentary cooperation.
Gul said that besides official delegation, Turkey-Russia Interparliamentary Friendship Group Chairman and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Nevzat Yalcintas, Gaziantep deputy Fatma Sahin, Bursa deputy Mustafa Ozyurt and Turkish businessmen would accompany him during his visit.
Gul said that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov, Russian Federation Council Chairman Sergey Mironov, Farit Rafikovich Gazizullin, Russian Minister of Property Relations and Turkey-Russia Joint Economic Commission Co-Chairman, and Moscow Mayor Yuri Lujkov.
Gul said that two countries would sign 2004 consultation program between Turkish and Russian foreign ministries, protocol on determining bilateral search and rescue zones and cooperation at seas, cooperation protocol between Turkish Republic prime ministry state archives directorate general and Russian Federation federal archive service and protocol on mutual recognition of sea-men documents.
(GC-AÖ) 23.02.2004