Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Friday during a high-level international gathering marking the 30th anniversary of Turkmenistan's permanent neutrality and the United Nations-declared "International Year of Peace and Security" for 2025.

The closed-door discussion took place at Erdoğan's hotel following the conclusion of the inaugural "International Peace and Security Forum," where global leaders emphasized multilateral cooperation amid escalating geopolitical tensions. The forum, hosted in Turkmenistan's capital, drew heads of state from across Eurasia, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, to underscore themes of dialogue and conflict resolution.

Erdoğan, who arrived in Ashgabat on December 11 alongside First Lady Emine Erdoğan, participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Neutrality Monument earlier in the day, joining Putin and other dignitaries in a symbolic gesture of commitment to global stability. The Turkish leader's visit also included separate one-on-one meetings with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, highlighting Ankara's active diplomacy in Central Asia.

According to Turkish Presidency statements shared on X, the Erdoğan-Putin talks—attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Chief İbrahim Kalın, and other senior advisors—focused on strengthening bilateral ties and addressing pressing regional issues.

Key topics reportedly included:Ukraine Conflict: Erdoğan reiterated Türkiye's support for diplomatic efforts toward a ceasefire, offering to facilitate renewed negotiations through the "Istanbul process," a framework for Black Sea grain exports and peace talks that mediated a temporary deal in 2022. The leaders' discussion comes amid stalled progress in late 2025 trilateral talks involving Ukraine and Russia.

Bilateral Relations: Updates on energy cooperation, particularly the TurkStream pipeline expansions and potential new gas deals, as well as trade volumes that have surged 25% year-over-year to exceed $50 billion, driven by post-pandemic recovery and sanctions circumvention strategies.

Regional Stability: Exchanges on Syria's fragile truce, with both sides affirming the importance of joint patrols and humanitarian corridors, and broader Central Asian security amid rising extremism threats.

On the Russian side, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and Tatarstan President Rüstem Minnihanov were present, signaling Moscow's emphasis on economic dimensions of the partnership.

This encounter marks the latest in a series of frequent high-level contacts between the two leaders, who last met face-to-face on September 1, 2025, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China's Tianjin. They also spoke by phone on October 7 and November 24, discussing Ukraine and energy amid global market volatility.

The meeting underscores the deepening Türkiye-Russia strategic partnership, often described by Erdoğan as a "win-win" model that balances NATO commitments with pragmatic engagement. Analysts note that such dialogues could pave the way for breakthroughs in frozen conflicts, though challenges like Western sanctions on Russia continue to test the alliance.

As the forum wraps up on December 12, Erdoğan is scheduled to return to Ankara, where he will brief coalition partners on outcomes from the Turkmenistan engagements. No joint statement was immediately released, but officials from both sides described the atmosphere as "constructive and forward-looking." (ILKHA)