Erdoğan’s letter to Moscow has no ‘substance,’ says Russian Foreign Ministry
ISTANBUL
The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that a letter sent to Moscow by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to mark Russia Day “contained no substantial elements,” Sputnik Turkey has reported.According to the report, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the letter was a regular “protocol practice,” also noting that Turkey had still “not made progress” in meeting the conditions set by Moscow to normalize relations.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously said the letter “did not require a response” as it was a regular protocol message sent on national holidays.
Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım passed along greetings to Russian counterparts Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin on the occasion of National Day in Russia on June 12, despite ongoing tension between the two countries.
Turkey downed a Russian jet along its border on Nov. 24, 2015, over alleged airspace violations, prompting a series of sanctions from the Russian side, as well as a war of words.
Putin accused Ankara of a “stab in the back” and imposed sanctions on Turkey, as trade between the two countries – which back opposing sides in the five-year Syrian conflict – plummeted.
Erdoğan recently said both sides should work together to better their relations, adding that he was concerned at how ties had been sacrificed over what he described as a “pilot error.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously said the letter “did not require a response” as it was a regular protocol message sent on national holidays.
Erdoğan and Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım passed along greetings to Russian counterparts Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin on the occasion of National Day in Russia on June 12, despite ongoing tension between the two countries.
Turkey downed a Russian jet along its border on Nov. 24, 2015, over alleged airspace violations, prompting a series of sanctions from the Russian side, as well as a war of words.
Putin accused Ankara of a “stab in the back” and imposed sanctions on Turkey, as trade between the two countries – which back opposing sides in the five-year Syrian conflict – plummeted.
Erdoğan recently said both sides should work together to better their relations, adding that he was concerned at how ties had been sacrificed over what he described as a “pilot error.”
