Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reported on Tuesday that ties between Ankara and Moscow are not an alternative to relations with other allies. The Turkish leader made this point during a news conference in Ankara ahead of departing to London for the imminent NATO summit set to be held on December 3-4, TASS reports.
"Russia remains one of Turkey’s main partners. However, our relations with Russia are not an alternative to ties with other allies, but, on the contrary, they supplement [each other]," Erdogan noted.
The Turkish president pointed out that Russia is an important player on the global political stage. "The summit is going to focus on relations [of NATO members] with Russia and China. We support productive cooperation with China, which we also consider to be a rising power. Russia is one of the main players in our region and on the global stage," he added.