UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; REVISED THROUGHOUT; REVISES HEADLINE
By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday met in Moscow with Sergey Shoygu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, the Foreign Ministry said on X.
Further details were not officially provided, but Turkish diplomatic sources said Fidan and Shoygu, a former defense minister, discussed the situation in Gaza, Syria, and ongoing negotiations for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, two former Soviet republics.
Expressing his readiness to boost Moscow-Ankara contacts at the level of security councils, Shoygu conveyed his greetings to Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), National Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and National Security Council Secretary General Seyfullah Hacimuftuoglu, who he said he hopes to welcome to Russia at a suitable time.
"I propose full-fledged bilateral consultations on security issues to be held in Moscow or Ankara in the third quarter of this year,” Shoygu said, according to a statement issued by Russia’s Security Council news service.
The statement underlined that during the meeting between Fidan and Shoygu, Turkish-Russian security cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats was discussed.
"The intention to develop a strategic equal bilateral partnership, including strengthening international and regional security, was confirmed,” the statement added.
The two also discussed developments in Ukraine, the sources said, adding that Fidan also met with Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service.
Fidan later attended an event organized by the Russian-Turkish Businessmen's Association.
Earlier in the day, the foreign minister met a delegation of Ahiska Turks. He is in Russia to attend a two-day meeting of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and South Africa.
The session marks the first gathering since the group expanded from five members to nine in January with the addition of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates as official members.
Fifteen other countries, including Türkiye, were also invited to the expanded format of the meeting.