Russia and Turkey will work to liberalize the visa regime, and the issue of abolishing visas for professional drivers will soon be resolved, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters following Russian-Turkish talks Monday.

"A characteristic feature of Russian-Turkish relations is a high level of tourist exchanges.

Turkey is becoming increasingly popular with Russian tourists, who visit not only Turkish resorts, but also numerous historical and cultural sights. Last year, Russia again was the first in terms of the number of foreign tourists in the Republic of Turkey - 6 million people," Putin said.

"In turn, we appreciate the attention that the Turkish authorities pay to the security and comfortable stay of the Russians, and intend to consistently work to liberalize the mutual visa regime. In particular, the issue of abolishing visas for professional drivers will be resolved in the near future," he said, Urdu point noted.