Putin to meet Turkish president on Wed, attend Week of Competition in Russia forum
MOSCOW. Sept 22 (Interfax) - Presidents of Russia and Turkey Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will have talks on Wednesday, September 23, the Kremlin press service said.
It was reported that Erdogan will be on a working visit to Moscow on this day, during the opening ceremony of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque following its reconstruction.
On Wednesday, Putin will also participate in the annual international forum of the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service 'Week of Competition in Russia', dedicated to the 25th anniversary of anti-monopoly regulations in Russia, the Kremlin press service said.
Earlier, on September 18, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the Turkish president would attend the opening ceremony of the mosque in Moscow and "will also have a meeting on this occasion with President Putin for eye-to-eye talks."
Peskov also said that he was not yet ready to answer Interfax's question as to whether Putin will attend the opening of the mosque.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Embassy in Moscow said that "the Turkish president is expected to attend the events on the occasion of the opening of the Cathedral Mosque in Moscow on September 23."
The opening of the Cathedral Mosque in Moscow following its restoration will be held on September 23. The mosque was built in Moscow in 1904. A large-scale reconstruction with complete demolition and construction from anew began in May 2005.