Erdogan to visit Russia to discuss S-400, joint projects

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MOSCOW, April 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a working visit to Moscow next Monday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin said on Friday.

At the eighth meeting of the Russian-Turkish High-Level Cooperation Council, the two presidents will discuss the implementation of joint energy projects and reconcile approaches on regional and international issues, it said in a statement.

During the visit, a number of bilateral documents are expected to be signed, according to the Kremlin.

Putin and Erdogan will also hold a joint meeting with businessmen of the two countries and take part in the opening ceremony of the Russia-Turkey cross-year of culture and tourism at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, it said.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters on Friday that Putin and Erdogan plan to discuss the situation in Syria, including in the context of the U.S. plan to withdraw part of its troops from that country.

They are also expected to discuss the supply of a Russian S-400 air defense system to Turkey and the progress of the construction of the TurkStream natural gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey, he said.

The Pentagon said Monday that it had halted deliveries of F-35 fighter jet parts and manuals to Turkey over the latter's purchase of the S-400 from Russia, the first batch of which is expected to reach Turkey in late 2019.

On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that his country will not step back from the deal to buy the S-400 from Russia.