Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Turkey yesterday accompanied by a large delegation for discussions on trade, including a Turkish demand for a price reduction on it neighbour’s natural gas.

The two countries, backing opposite sides in the Syrian civil war, are seeking to increase their two-way trade volume from £21 billion to £63bn by 2020.

Russia provides the bulk of Turkey’s gas and is set to build its first nuclear power plant.

Turkish construction firms are active in Russia while millions of Russian tourists travel to Turkey each year.

Mr Putin was welcomed at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s new mega-palace, which has drawn the ire of Turkish opposition parties, environmentalists and activists who say the 1,000-room complex is a costly extravagance.