ANKARA (Sputnik) — In March, Cavusoglu said that Turkey wanted to strengthen relations with Russia in all spheres, including trade, and hoped that the relevant ministries would hold talks and take necessary measures.
"We have no problems in relations with Russia. We take steps to strengthen the bilateral cooperation, reach the ceasefire in Syria and the political settlement in this country. I can say that over the last five or six months we have seen a positive development of relations with Russia," Cavusoglu said, as aired by Ahaber television broadcaster.
On January 1, 2016, Moscow imposed on Ankara a ban on the import of various agricultural products in response to the November 2015 downing of a Russian aircraft by Turkey over Syria. In October 2016 however, the Russian embargo was partially lifted following Ankara's apologies for the incident.
Despite the fact that Moscow and Ankara support opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, the two states, along with Iran, brokered three rounds of talks on Syrian peace in Kazakhstan's capital of Astana. During the talks, the participants agreed, among other decisions, to set up a ceasefire monitoring group.
Unlike Russia, Turkey has blamed the Syrian government for an alleged chemical weapon use in Khan Shaykhun in the Idlib province on April 4, while Moscow has called for a proper international investigation into the incident.
