Erdogan sent a message to Putin

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia's national holiday, the first formal contact at this level after months of high tensions.

Strong relations between Ankara and Moscow have deteriorated in November after a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian bomber over the Syrian border, as it is to Turkey violated its airspace.Russia has since made a series of economic sanctions against Ankara and called for their tourists that do not travel in this country.

Erdogan, after this incident, requested a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a summit on climate change in Paris, but the head of the Russian state was rejected.

According to Turkish media, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Last weekend, Erdogan sent a conciliatory message to the Kremlin, hoping that relations between Ankara and Moscow "soon recover".

- Our friendship with Putin has allowed us to keep our bilateral relations to a higher level before the air incident, Erdogan said, quoted daily Hurriyet on Sunday, according to AFP.

• 14 Jun, 2016
• 1117 views