Moscow : Process of restoring the Russian-Turkish relations continues

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

Turkey and Russia seek to rebuild their damaged ties and grow even closer rather they were.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a press briefing on Thursday that the process of restoring the Russian-Turkish relations is underway.

“After negotiations, we signed a number of documents at the highest level, including economic agreements, which should contribute to the restoration of our relations. And it is clear that their immediate implementation takes time. This example shows that this process is still going”, said Zakharova.

She further said that Moscow’s contacts with Turkey on Syria have been restored.

"Contacts with our Turkish colleagues on Syria have been restored," the diplomat said. "An exchange of views is in progress, we are assessing what Turkey is doing. Our contacts have been restored, and we express the concerns that we have not so much in public as through the direct channels. Public rhetoric doesn’t add any constructive proposals."

Moreover, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardym recently said that an official representative of Turkish Foreign Ministry will visit Moscow next week to hold consultations with Russia Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

"The representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Tanju Bilgic, will visit Moscow next week for consultations with Maria Zakharova on the question of media," Umit Yardym said.

He also added that the mayor of Istanbul is expected to visit Moscow on October 25.

Relations between Turkey and Russia broke down for about seven months after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in November 2015.

However, relations have improved since the August meeting of the two presidents. The visit of Erdogan marked a first since last November when the crisis in relations between the countries started and is also Erdogan’s first foreign visit after a failed coup attempt in Turkey.

The last time the two leaders met on the sidelines of World Energy Congress on October 10 held in Istanbul.