Erdogan May Hold Telephone Conversation With Putin on June 29-30

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Recep Tayyip Erdogan may hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 29-30.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may hold a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 29-30, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.

"Turkish and Russian nations do not like this crisis [in Turkey-Russia relations]. The Turkish leader will hold a telephone conversation with Mr. Putin on Wednesday or Thursday," Yildirim wrote on his Twitter page Monday.

Earlier Erdogan expressed hope for soonest normalization of relations between Turkey and Russia.

On Monday, the Kremlin's press office published a statement saying that Erdogan had sent a letter to Putin saying he was interested in resolving the conflict triggered by the 2015 Turkish downing of a Russian jet in Syria and offering condolences to the family of the killed pilot.

Turkish-Russian relations deteriorated after a Turkish F-16 fighter shot down the Russian Su-24 combat jet near the Turkish border in Syria on November 24, 2015. The jet was carrying out anti-terrorist operations in Syria. The crew of the plane ejected and one of the pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed by ground fire, while the second pilot survived.

Following the incident, Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey and has repeatedly said that Ankara should apologize for downing the plane and cover any material losses to the country and the pilot's family.