Page 17 - bne IntelliNews Russia Country report May 2017

2.7 Politics - misc
Vladimir Putin hailed the restoration of what he called “full format” relations between Russia and Turkey after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on May 3. "Some time ago our bilateral ties, as is well known, were tested. Now we can say with certainty that the recovery process in Russo-Turkish ties is complete," Putin told a news conference. "We are getting back to a normal cooperative partnership."
Putin met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi and has a call with Trump who agree to meet at G20 in July and the Italian PM to visit Moscow on 17 May on May 2 – a busy day for President Vladimir Putin. Putin welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Sochi for her first proper working visit to Russia since the geopolitical escalation of March 2014. The situation in eastern Ukraine was the central topic, with Merkel reiterating that the removal of economic sanctions is conditional upon the implementation of the Minsk Accord. Both leaders emphasised the importance of continued dialogue in the Normandy Four format (the last phone call between the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France took place on 17 April). Syria was mentioned in passing during the talks. Later in the day, Putin had a phone call with US President Donald Trump, with the Syrian crisis being the central topic, alongside the situation on the Korean peninsula. The Kremlin’s press release on the phone call does not mention Ukraine. Otherwise, the Presidents “spoke in favour of arranging a personal meeting during the G20 Summit in Hamburg on 7-8 July.” Meanwhile, Senate Foreign Relations committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said on Monday that the Cardin-McCain bipartisan bill codifying the existing sanctions against Russia was on hold. In other related news, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (who is presiding over the G7 this
17 RUSSIA Country Report May 2017 www.intellinews.com