Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Monday officially invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to visit Ankara, in a message delivered by Premier Mikhail Kasyanov who is visiting Ankara, ITAR-TASS reported.
"The state visit would be the first by a Russian president to Turkey," Russian ambassador to Ankara, Alexander Lebedev, told the news agency.
He added that possible dates for the trip had not yet been discussed.
Kasyanov, who is on a three-day official visit to Turkey, met with Sezer Monday evening.
Turkey and Russia announced Monday that they had agreed to increase cooperation in the military and defense industry fields.
"We have reached agreement to deepen and enhance our cooperation on military and security issues," Kasyanov said in Ankara during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Bulent Ecevit.
Russia, one of Turkey's biggest trading partners, is bidding in a Turkish tender, estimated at some four billion dollars, for the purchase of 145 combat helicopters – MOSCOW (AFP)
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