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A file photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin (R), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2-R), and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (3-R) attend the ceremonial opening of the Moscow Sobornaya Mosque in Moscow, Russia, September 23, 2015. EPA/BGNES
The Presidents of Russia and Turkey are due to meet in St Petersburg for the first time after the downing of a Russian fighter-bomber by the Turkish Air Force in November.
The incident severed bilateral relations, halted cooperation in energy and trade and decreased the flow of Russian tourists to Turkey.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in June apologized to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, marking the beginning of a thaw.
On Monday he told Russian TASS news agency Ankara was ready to immediately return to the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, whose implementation came to a halt after the incident but had been marked by a dispute over gas pricing discounts even before the incident.
The St Petersburg meeting is expected to give "the final momentum" to go on with both Turkish Stream and Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is to be built by Russia.
Turkish Stream was announced as a substitute to South Stream, a pipeline which was to supply Central Europe with gas via Bulgaria and Serbia but whose construction was declared over in December 2014. Bulgaria has recently shown willingness to revive the pipeline project.
A possible renewal of Turkish Stream, however, has been met with concern by officials in Ukraine, which sees in the project a possibility for Russia to partially or fully bypass its gas transportation network into Europe.
The Syrian crisis and the fight against terrorism will also be high on the bilateral agenda.
A group of Members of the European Parliament has raised concerns over the potential leakage of confidential EU information to Russia, urging stronger safeguards within the European Parliament
A leaked transcript of a phone call between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin shows Orban offering extensive support to Moscow and describing himself as ready to help “in any way” in relation to the war in Ukraine
Turkish authorities have launched a full-scale investigation after a shooting outside a building hosting the Israeli consulate in Istanbul left two attackers dead, one wounded, and several police officers injured
The leadership of “We Continue the Change” (PP), including Asen Vassilev and deputy chairman Nikolai Denkov, met with Bulgarian emigrants in Istanbul, alongside PP-DB list leaders from Shumen and Kardzhali
Vladimir Putin stated that Armenia cannot realistically pursue membership in the European Union while remaining part of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, arguing that the two frameworks are fundamentally incompatible
A Russian An-26 military transport aircraft has crashed in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board, according to information released by the country’s defense ministry and cited by Russian state media
A group of Members of the European Parliament has raised concerns over the potential leakage of confidential EU information to Russia, urging stronger safeguards within the European Parliament
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has formally enacted legislation withdrawing the country from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), marking a decisive step in Chisinau’s gradual disengagement from Russian-led structures
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has carried out a series of coordinated investigative actions across several countries, including Bulgaria and Romania, as part of a probe into suspected large-scale fraud involving EU funds
A fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran has coincided with escalating tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has moved to tighten control over one of the world’s most critical maritime routes
US President Donald Trump has sharply criticized NATO allies over what he described as their unwillingness to support Washington during the war with Iran, following a two-hour meeting with Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House
Lebanon has declared a national day of mourning after one of the deadliest days in recent months, with at least 254 people killed and more than 1,165 injured in Israeli strikes carried out shortly after the announcement of a US-Iran ceasefire
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