Moscow, June 15: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his wish to restore relations with Russia in a recent letter of congratulation to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday’s Russia Day. “On behalf of the Turkish people, I congratulate all Russians on the occasion of the Russia Day, and wish that in the time ahead the relations between Russia and Turkey reach their well-deserved level,” Xinhua quoted RIA Novosti news agency as saying on Tuesday.
Relations between Russia and Turkey have soured after the latter downed a Russian Su-24 bomber near the Turkish-Syrian border in November last year for alleged airspace violation, which Russia denied and took as a hostile act. Putin described the attack as a “stab in the back” and ordered a broad range of economic sanctions against Turkey. Ankara did not take retaliatory measures, in a bid to avoid the escalation of the already tense situation. But it did not shy away from resorting to harsh diatribe against Russia. (IANS)