ANKARA
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia's stance towards Syria crisis was similar to Turkey's.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin said, "However, there would be differences regarding the method. We have developed new ideas during our meeting with Turkish premier on which we will work."
Regarding a stray Syrian shell that had landed in Turkey earlier which killed 5 Turkish citizens in Turkey's south, Putin said, "We cannot ignore the shelling of a country's territory. Turkey and Russia are neighbors who have great responsibilities. We will continue to consult with our Turkish friends."
Responding to a question over deployment of Patriot missiles along Turkey's border with Syria, Putin said, "Russia understands Turkey's concerns along its borders, however, deploying Patriot missiles is not the model we prefer."
"There are no nuclear weapons in Syria. They are not even close to make it. We do not protect the regime in Syria. We are not their advocate," Putin also added.
Russian president: trade volume between Turkey and Russia rose 20 percent
Putin said that the trade volume between Turkey and Russia increased 20 percent in 2011.
Russia is one of Turkey's most important trade partners; it is on the second rank, said Putin during a joint press conference.
Last year, world trade dropped, but Turkish-Russian trade rose 20 percent. It also increased 14 percent in January-September period this year, said Putin.
Premier Erdogan and I target to increase trade volume to 100 billion USD, said Putin.
Recalling that they signed a program on economic, scientific and technical cooperation, Putin said that the program envisaged incentives to develop industrial cooperation, strengthen relations in iron-steel and agriculture areas, and develop technologies in telecommunications, space & satellite communication technologies.
Putin also said that Russia would meet 20 billion USD which was the investment volume of Turkey's first nuclear power plant.
Russian president departs from Istanbul
Russian President Vladimir Putin departed from Istanbul on Monday.
Putin held a bilateral meeting with Erdogan, and then they attended the third meeting of Turkey-Russia high-level cooperation council.
Turkish ministers Ahmet Davutoglu, Zafer Caglayan, Taner Yildiz and Mehdi Eker also attended the meeting.
