Turkey says Putin's visit will speed up normalization process

Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey will "accelerate" the normalization process between the two countries, the office of the Turkish Presidency said in a statement on Friday.

Putin will attend the 23rd World Energy Congress in Istanbul on Oct. 10 upon the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the office announced.

According to the statement, the two leaders will hold a bilateral meeting with the participation of relevant ministers on the sidelines of the congress.

"It is expected that this visit, which comes as a follow-up to the two leaders' earlier meetings in St. Petersburg on Aug. 9 and in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 3 on the sidelines of the G20 summit, will contribute to further improving our cooperation and accelerating normalization process between Turkey and Russia," read the statement.

The two leaders will discuss bilateral relations including energy cooperation, with a special emphasis on the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline project that will transfer Russian gas to Europe via Turkey.

It will be Putin's first visit since Turkey downed a Russian jet last November, which drifted the bilateral relations to a historical low.

The 23rd World Energy Congress, a triennial event, will open on Oct. 9 and continue till Oct. 13. A large number of leaders and representatives of the energy sector from 80 countries will gather at the Istanbul Congress. Endit