Talking to journalists ahead of talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his summer residence in Sochi, President Vladimir Putin said on 17 July that bilateral trade has reached $10 billion a year and that both presidents \"set an absolutely realistic task\" of bringing it to $25 billion \"within the next few years.\" Putin also noted the intensified political contacts between the two countries. In addition to bilateral trade and the expansion of energy cooperation, the two leaders also plan to discuss the situation in Iraq and the Middle East, and security problems in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Erdogan is scheduled to stay in Putin\'s residence for talks all day on 18 July. In addition to trade, Turkey has become an important Russian tourism destination. In 2004, Turkey was visited by 1.6 million Russian tourists, while Turkish construction companies have completed projects worth $12 billion in Russia in the last several years. (RFE/RL)