Putin hopes Geneva-2 to be called as quickly as possible

"Russia has taken the obligation to convince the Syrian authorities [on the necessity to hold the conference] and we have completed our share of work, now it is the turn of our partners, who should convince the opposition of the same," Putin said following talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.

Vladimir Putin has said that in spite of disagreements on the situation in Syria between Russia and Turkey, the parties will continue trying to reach a compromise.

"Our approaches may differ but it won’t hinder our joint efforts in seeking ways for solving the most serious international problems,” Putin stated following a Russia-Turkey meeting.

He noted that in the course of the fourth session of the High-Level Russian-Turkish Cooperation Council in St Petersburg he and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation in the Middle East in general and in Syria in particular.

Geneva-2 conference may take place before yearend - Ushakov

The Russian president's aide Yury Ushakov has said he does not rule out the possibility that the Geneva-2 international conference on Syria may be held before the end of 2013.

"Vigorous preparations are under way. But no dates have been set so far. They should be agreed upon and announced by the UN secretary general," Ushakov told reporters on Thursday.

Russia is actively involved in preparations for this event, he said.

"We are working hard, doing our part of the job. In particular, [Russian] President Vladimir Putin had a useful conversation with President of Syria Bashar al-Assad - the first conversation in seven years," Ushakov said.

The Russian side "encouraged the Syrian authorities to play a proactive and constructive role in preparations for this conference," he said.

"But, as you understand, it is not only about what the authorities in Damascus think. It is also about the position of certain opposition groups," Ushakov said.

The presidential aide said he knew nothing about another possible visit by Syrian opposition representatives to Moscow.

Russia, Turkey to ease trade, step up energy, engineering partnership

Russia and Turkey have agreed to boost bilateral trade by streamlining customs procedures. President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan oversaw a ceremony to sign formal agreements about this at a meeting in Strelna near St Petersburg on Friday.

They have also provided for closer cooperation between their national electricity companies and between their leading engineering giants.

These giants are Russia's Power Machines and Turkey's Pi Makina.

Russia hopes Turkey will give guarantees to long-term electricity purchases

Russia is hoping that Turkey will give tax privileges and guarantees to long-term electricity purchases under the Akkuyu project, President Vladimir Putin said at a session of the Russian-Turkish High Level Cooperation Council on Friday.

Rosatom State Corporation is building the first nuclear power plant in Turkey, Putin said, adding the Akkuyu project cost about 20 billion US dollars.

"Approximately 25 percent will be acquired by Turkish companies. These are additional jobs and investments in Turkey's power engineering," the Russian president said.

Russia considers the Akkuyu project one of the priority ones, Putin added.

Voice of Russia