UPDATE 2 - Turkish, Russian presidents meet in Sochi

UPDATES WITH DURATION OF MEETING, OTHER EDITS

By Diyar Guldogan

SOCHI, Russia (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met Monday at the Russian leader’s presidential residence in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi.

The meeting, which was closed to the media, started at 5.20 p.m local time (1420GMT) and lasted for over two hours.

Speaking to reporters before meeting with Putin, Erdogan said: "Both our bilateral relations in the region and our solidarity on regional problems increase our confidence in the future."

Erdogan said "intensive" meetings with Russia, especially during the normalization process, will boost bilateral ties.

He added that he hoped his meeting with Putin would be "productive".

Putin said the meetings with Turkey, including those about the Syrian crisis, had a "positive" effect.

He added that trade between Turkey and Russia had grown more than 30 percent in the first eight months of this year compared to 2016.

"We can say that relations between Turkey and Russia are now completely restored," Putin added, referring to the mending of ties after the downing of a Russian jet in November 2015.

The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments, particularly Syria.

Following the talks, Erdogan and Putin are due to hold a joint news briefing.