Putin hails Turkey's Erdogan as 'strong leader'

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Erdogan meet on the sidelines CICA summit in Astana
Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meet on the sidelines of the 6th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA), in Astana, Kazakhstan October 13, 2022. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
  • This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

MOSCOW, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday as a "strong leader" who always defended Turkey's interests.

Putin said Erdogan was not always an "easy partner" to deal with, but that Turkey was always "reliable" and had a desire to reach agreements.

Erdogan has played a vital role as a go-between for Kyiv and Moscow since the start of the conflict, brokering the Black Sea grain deal and assisting in a number of prisoner exchangers - the only diplomatic breakthroughs to date in the eight-month conflict.

Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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