Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said regarding Russian limitation against Turkish export products that many countries violated Russian customs regulations, and customs administration took stricter measures against them.

He said that there was no discrimination against Turkey, adding that Russia wanted to continue commerce with Turkey.Lavrov and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan replied questions of reporters after their joint press conference in Istanbul on Tuesday.

When a reporter asked whether Russia was isolating itself in economic aspect, Lavrov said that trade volume between Turkey and Russia was developing rapidly, and some problems might emerge periodically. He added that Turkish and Russian customs officials would hold meetings soon and problems would be solved.

Upon a question about the problem in Caucasus, Babacan reminded that he met Georgian foreign minister in Istanbul last Sunday and discussed the recent incidents in the region. "Their general approach was positive. They said they prefer to wait some conditions to be shaped up. On the other hand, we will continue to hold talks regarding Caucasus Stability & Cooperation Platform," he said.

When a reporter asked Babacan how Turkey --both as a NATO member and a regional country-- assessed formation of the 'quintet alliance' in the region, he said, "Turkey will implement all rights and responsibilities as a NATO member. Turkey is the only country in NATO which is the neighbor of Georgia and it is also the only NATO-member country in Caucasus region. Turkey's assessing the problems from a regional perspective is natural. Our Caucasus Platform proposal is not an excluding platform regarding the solution of problems in Caucasus. Currently, the EU, Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe, Council of Europe and NATO are launching many initiatives to solve the problems. Caucasus Platform aims to contribute to these initiatives."

When asked, "Turkey supports territorial integrity of Georgia, but Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia. How can a multilateral partnership be carried out?" Babacan said that Turkey's policy in this issue was clear, adding that Turkey attached importance to territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of both Georgia and other countries in the region. Babacan said that stances of Turkey and Russia were different in this issue however friends could sometimes have different opinions. AA