Russian President Vladimir Putin said he hopes to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at an upcoming summit next month, as he hailed growing relations between Russia and Türkiye during a meeting with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday.
"I hope that very soon, on the 3rd or 4th of July, he will be in Astana as far as I know," Putin told Fidan, referring to the capital of the former Soviet state Kazakhstan.
"This is part of an international event, and he and I will have an opportunity to meet and discuss all current issues."
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a regional grouping of nations and Türkiye often takes part in meetings as a "dialogue partner."
Putin also praised Ankara's desire to help resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, which began in February 2022, as well as resolving other "crisis situations."
Putin went on to mention Erdoğan's role in putting together the 2022-2023 Black Sea grain deal, widely hailed as averting a global food crisis, and thanked Fidan for supporting the negotiation process between Moscow and Kyiv.
Türkiye has drawn praise for its unique ability to talk to both sides of the conflict, as well as its initiatives on issues such as the Black Sea grain deal and prisoner exchanges.
"Together we played a very significant role in resolving the Syrian crisis," Putin said about efforts under the Astana format to encourage a long-term settlement in civil war-torn Syria.
"I think it would be right to continue the Astana format, fight terrorism, do everything that depends on us so that the situation returns to normal in this direction that is most important for us," he added.
On Russian-Turkish relations, Putin said Moscow sees the development of its ties with Ankara with "satisfaction."
"All this is happening, of course, under the leadership and with the direct support of our friend, the president of the Republic of Türkiye," he said.
Noting a slight decline in bilateral trade at the beginning of this year, Putin said Moscow attributes this primarily to adjustments in prices for Russia's main export and import goods.
"I hope that we will be able to correct this situation in the near future and everything will develop in the same way as last year," he also said.
Putin also welcomed Türkiye's interest in the work of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies.
"We welcome Türkiye's interest in the work of BRICS. Of course, we will strongly support this desire to be together with the countries of this association, to be together, closer, to solve common problems," Putin said during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Moscow.
Encouraging "more thorough and dense interaction" of the BRICS countries especially with their respective regions, Putin said this is needed to effectively adjust their actions in the international arena, in term of ensuring both security and economic interaction.
The BRICS bloc was originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates having joined this January.