Vladimir Putin arrived in Istanbul from Syria, where he met with Bashar al-Assad, visited the command post of the Russian Armed Forces group in Syria, toured the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus. Talks between the Russian and Syrian delegations were also held as part of the visit.
The President’s working programme in Turkey is scheduled for January 8. Vladimir Putin will attend the ceremony for launching the TurkStream gas pipeline and will meet with Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It is expected that the two sides will discuss the prospects for developing Russian-Turkish cooperation and current items on the international agenda, including the situation in Syria and Libya.