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.”
71 - 71Shares
Be Civil
This is a Civilized Place for Public Discussion
Please treat this discussion with the same respect you would a public park. We, too, are a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge and interests through ongoing conversation.
These are not hard and fast rules, merely guidelines to aid the human judgment of our community and keep this a clean and well-lighted place for civilized public discourse.
Make it better
Improve the Discussion
Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.
The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.
Now the hard part!
Be Agreeable, Even When You Disagree
You may wish to respond to something by disagreeing with it. That’s fine. But remember to criticize ideas, not people. Please avoid:
Instead, provide reasoned counter-arguments that improve the conversation.