UPDATE - Turkish, Russian presidents meet in Sochi

UPDATES WITH REMARKS BY ERDOGAN, PUTIN

By Diyar Guldogan

SOCHI, Russia (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are meeting at the Russian leader’s presidential residence on Monday in the coastal city of Sochi.

The meeting, which is closed to the media, started at 5.20 p.m local time (1420GMT).

Speaking to the media prior to his meeting with Putin, Erdogan said: "Both our bilateral relations in the region and our solidarity [with Russia] on regional problems increase our confidence for the future."

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

He added that he hoped the 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 the bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Russia had increased more than 30 percent in the first eight months of this year compared to last year.

"We can say that the relations between Turkey and Russia are now completely restored," Putin added.

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

After meeting Putin one-on-one, Erdogan and his delegation will be hosted at a banquet which will be followed by a joint news conference with the two leaders.