Putin hopes to meet Turkish President Erdogan at regional meeting

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, quoted by Russian news agencies, said on Tuesday he hoped to meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan next month at a regional meeting in Kazakhstan.

"I hope that very soon, on the 3rd or 4th of July, he will be in Astana as far as I know," Putin told visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, referring to the capital of the former Soviet state.

"This is part of an international event, and he and I will have an opportunity to meet and discuss all current issues."

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a regional grouping of nations and Turkey often takes part in meetings as a "dialogue partner."

Erdogan has sought to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine and act as an intermediary amid the more than two-year-old conflict pitting the two neighbours against each other. [Reuters]