UPDATE - Turkish, Turkmen leaders meet on sidelines of Awaza summit

ADDS TURKISH PRESIDENT'S REMARK DURING MEETING WITH GURBANGULY BERDIMUHAMEDOV

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Turkmen counterpart Serdar Berdimuhamedov met in Turkmenistan on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues.

The closed-door meeting came on the sidelines of the first summit between the leaders of Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan in the western Turkmen city of Awaza.

No further information has been released about the meeting.

Erdogan also held talks with Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan, the upper chamber of parliament, as well as the nation’s former president.

The trilateral meeting will go down in history, Erdogan told the parliamentary chair, adding that the steps that will be taken in the field of energy, natural gas, and transportation are of "great importance."

"Turkmenistan’s permanent membership in the Organization of Turkic States will strengthen the organization," Erdogan added.

Turkmenistan joined the organization as an observer state in 2021.

Erdogan will later meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of the summit.