Russian newspapers cover Erdogan-Putin talks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Russian media on Wednesday focused on talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Both leaders met for first time in Russian city of St. Petersburg on Tuesday since ties deteriorated last November. Turkey-Russia relations were severed last year after Turkey shot down a Russian military jet as it violated Turkish airspace.

Russia's Kommersant newspaper wrote that the meeting between Erdogan and Putin had ended the crisis and removed tensions on bilateral relations.

The newspaper said the meeting's duration – almost two hours – showed that Erdogan and Putin were enthusiastic about normalization.

Izvestia newspaper wrote: “Moscow and Ankara made peace in the interests of both peoples.”

Moskovskij Komsomolets wrote the “black days” between Russia and Turkey had ended.

"Ankara and Moscow are ready to start with a clean slate for dialogue by leaving all happenings behind," the paper commented.

The daily Komsomolskaya Pravda described the meeting as "historic".

It wrote that after the leaders' news conference everyone had been persuaded that relations between Moscow and Ankara had improved.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta wrote that Putin and Erdogan were determined to promote relations between the countries and were known for keeping their promises.

Known for its opposition to Putin, even the Nezavisimaya newspaper supported the normalization of the Turkish-Russian relations.

TASS Russian News Agency said that the talks had much more strategic importance than assumed. The Russian agency added that the two leaders also talked about the Syrian crisis.