Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia's national holiday, expressing hope for good bilateral relations.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) Turkish-Russian relations deteriorated aftera Turkish F-16 fighter downed a Russian Su-24 bomber overSyria onNovember 24, 2015. The jet was carrying outanti-terrorist operations inSyria. The crew ofthe plane ejected and one ofthe pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed byground fire, while the second pilot survived.
Moscow imposed a number ofrestrictive measures onTurkey inresponse towhat Russian President Vladimir Putin classified asa "stab inthe back."
"Dear Mr. President. On behalf ofthe Turkish people, I congratulate all Russians onRussia Day, and hope that the relations betweenRussia and Turkey reach the level they deserve [to be at]," the note read.
In May, Putin said Moscow was willing toresume its relations withAnkara. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu proposed establishing a joint working group withRussia ina bid tonormalize the stalled Ankara-Moscow relations.
Prime Minister ofTurkey Binali Yildirim ina letter tohis Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev expressed hope that, "in the nearfuture, cooperation and relations betweenthe two countries will reach a level that is essential forthe common interests ofour peoples."
By Sputnik News