Putin Visits Turkey as Syrian Crisis Risks Ensnaring Trade Ties
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Russian President Vladimir Putin embarks on his first foreign trip in two months with a visit to Turkey, trying to shield growing trade ties from a widening rift over the Syrian conflict.
Hampered by a back injury since September, Putin postponed a trip to Turkey in October on the same day that Turkish F-16 jets grounded a Syrian airplane flying from Moscow. A one-day visit to Istanbul today will feature a bilateral council and a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.