WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US State Secretary John Kerry will discuss the current tensions between Moscow and Ankara during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Monday.
“I’m confident this [tensions] will be something that Secretary Kerry will discuss with President Putin when he’s in Moscow tomorrow,” Earnest said.
Earlier on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will meet with Kerry on Tuesday immediately following his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Russian-Turkish relations deteriorated following the downing of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16 fighter in Syria, on November 24.
“I think it’s notable that in the weeks since that occurred, we haven’t seen any tangible escalation at this point,” Earnest said. “I think it’s fair to say that there’s more work that both sides probably need to do in that regard.”
Following the incident, Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey. Russia also suspended a number of strategic bilateral projects, in particular, negotiations on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project.
