A further step of normalizing relations between Moscow and Ankara were made on Tuesday when Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Saint Petersburg.
This was the first meeting between the Presidents of both countries after the shooting down of a Russian bomber by a Turkish jet last November.
President Putin said the meeting demonstrates that both Moscow and Ankara wanted to “restore dialogue (and) relations”.
“Your visit today, despite a very difficult situation regarding domestic politics, indicates that we all want to restart dialogue and restore relations between Russia and Turkey,” Putin stated.
This was also Erdogan’s first foreign trip since the failed coup in Turkey on July 15 in which Putin emphasised that he was one of the first foreign leaders to express support to Erdogan during the failed coup.
“I know that I was one of the first who called you to express support regarding the crisis,” Putin stated. “I want to say once again that this is our principled position, we are against any unconstitutional actions.”
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