“Turkey will not make a choice between the European Union and Russia. We are developing projects based on our own and mutual interests,” Yildiz told reporters.
“As co-chair of the Russian-Turkish joint economic committee, I can say that Turkey is seeking to increase agricultural exports. Russia is more to us than just one of the nearby countries,” he added.
During his visit to Turkey last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the governments of Russia and Turkey are to develop proposals aimed at stimulating trade and investment and increasing cooperation in agriculture and technology between the countries. Russia is also set to construct a new pipeline to Turkey with annual capacity of 63 billion cubic meters.
Relations between Russia and the European Union have been strained in recent months as the West has accused Russia of interference in the Ukrainian crisis, claims repeatedly denied by Moscow. The European Union, alongside the United States, introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia over the issue. In August, Russia responded with a one-year ban on the import of certain food products from the countries that had imposed sanctions against it.
Amid the sanctions regime, Russia has managed to increase its cooperation with other foreign partners, including Turkey.
