MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A letter of apology sent by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Russian President Vladimir Putin may serve as a basis for a gradual restoration of relations between Russia and Turkey, Speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament Valentina Matvienko said Monday.
"It is a pity that the apology came rather late, but, as they say, better late than never…Nevertheless, this letter may become basis for a thaw [in bilateral relations] and gradual restoration of Russian-Turkish ties," Matvienko said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Monday that Putin had received a letter from Erdoğan expressing condolences over the death of a pilot in the downing of a Russian combat plane by a Turkish fighter jet last year and voicing Ankara's readiness to resolve the current bilateral crisis.
