Putin delays Turkish visit to Dec. 3

Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay his delayed visit to Turkey on Dec. 3, an official statement from Ankara said Thursday. Putin's visit was originally scheduled for Oct. 14-15, but it was postponed due to bureaucratic delay in preparations for the meeting, according to Turkish officials. Turkey and Russia aim to discuss entire relations in detail, determine new areas for cooperation and consult about regional and international issues in the High Level Council meeting with the participation of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Putin and relevant ministers, said the statement from the prime minister's office. Preparations for the meeting of High Level Cooperation Council, a mechanism established to boost political and economic ties between Russia and Turkey, have not finalized yet, a Turkish official told Xinhua. Erdogan and Putin decided in a phone conversation on Tuesday to postpone the meeting, he said. The coming High Level Cooperation Council meeting will be the third of its kind, which is held once a year and aims to boost mainly trade and economic ties and enables ministers of both sides to meet regularly.