Ambassador Naci Koru, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, delivered the keynote speech of the workshop entitled “Turkish-Russian Relations in the Post-Cold War Period: Current Dynamics, Future Prospects” held by International Strategic Research Organization of Turkey and the Institute of Oriental Studies of Russia on 19 February 2013. 
At his speech Deputy Minister Koru pointed out that as the two major countries of Eurasia, with their immense historical depth, distinct cultural characteristics and strong state traditions, Turkey and Russia were in constant interaction for centuries. “This interaction had its ups and downs, its periods of rivalry and solidarity, of competition and cooperation” said Deputy Minister Koru emphasizing the level reached in the relations between the two countries.
Pointing the establishment of the High Level Cooperation Council in 2010 Deputy Minister Koru said that the Council reflected the strong political will on both sides to sustain the momentum in bilateral relations and acted as a steering mechanism to further the multi-dimensional cooperation. On the economic relations Deputy Minister Koru highlighting that Russia was the second largest trading partner of Turkey, said “bilateral trade has grown seven fold to reach 33 billion dollars in 2012. Similarly, reciprocal investments have reached the level of 10 billion dollars, while the total value of the construction projects undertaken by Turkish companies in Russia has exceeded 40 billion dollars”
“Observers of Turkish-Russian relations over the last decades have had the chance to witness an amazing transformation. What started as economic cooperation in the 1990s was enriched in the 2000s with solid political dialogue. The early 2010s served as a period of consolidation. And we are only beginning to discover the things we can accomplish together.” said Deputy Minister Koru drawing attention to the potential scope for bilateral cooperation covering a huge geography in, and possibly beyond Eurasia. Source; Government