Reports: Putin, Erdogan to meet in August

(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) > Turkish statemedia says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in August, their first face-to-face meeting since a rapprochement in late June following the downing of a Russian warplane in November 2015.

Quoting presidential sources, the Anadolu Agency said the meeting will take place in the first week of August.

Ankara and Moscow said on July 17 that Putin had called Erdogan earlier to express his support in the wake of the July 15 deadly coup attempt in Turkey.

A statement from Erdogan's office said Putin said Moscow stood by "Turkey's elected government."

Putin also discussed the safety of Russian tourists 'under the current complicated conditions” in Turkey, the Kremlin said.

Russian charter flight carrying tourists to Turkey resumed this month after Putin officially lifted restrictions on tourism to Turkey.

Russia had imposed sanctions onTurkey after it shot down a Russian warplane atthe Syrian border, causing the death of a Russian pilot.

The two countries patched up relations after Erdogan sent a letter to the Russian leader thatexpressed condolences to the killed pilot";s family.