Turkey, Russia form direct military hotline
ANKARA
![Turkey, Russia form direct military hotline](http://image.hurimg.com/i/hurriyet/75/0x0/59c998bf45d2a027e83dba23.jpg)
DHA photo
Turkey and Russia have established a direct military line between the countries’ chief of General Staffs, as part of measures to prevent a repetition of incidents over Syria such as Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet on Nov. 24, 2015.Within the scope of a trilateral mechanism consisting of military, foreign relations and intelligence topics, a direct line of communication has been established between Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar and his Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who paid a one-day visit to Ankara on Sept. 15.
Relations between Ankara and Moscow have been repaired after months of strain since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane over the Syrian border for violating Turkish airspace.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 9 in St. Petersburg and Russia has lifted economic sanctions imposed against Turkey after the jet downing.