MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone about exchanging men wounded in Ukraine, the creation of a gas hub in Turkey and the export of grain from the Black Sea, the Kremlin said on Monday.
“The exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine continued,” the Kremlin said. It said the question of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine was raised, following talks between human rights commissioners from both countries in Turkey last week.
“Vladimir Putin drew attention to the destructive line of the Kyiv regime, which relies on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western sponsors, increasing the volume of transferred weapons and military equipment,” the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.
It said the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports and ways to unblock fertiliser and food exports from Russia was discussed. Erdogan and Putin also talked about energy, the Kremlin said.
“Among the priorities is cooperation in the energy sector, including the supply of Russian natural gas and the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey,” the Kremlin said.
They also discussed the normalisation of Turkish-Syrian relations, it said.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
