According to a poll recently conducted by the Turkish research company Optimar, most respondents are positive about the further development of Russian-Turkish ties.
Commenting on the issue in an interview with Sputnik, Optimar's director general Hilmi Dasdemir underscored that the growing number of those who welcome the strengthening of relationship between Russia and Turkey can be explained by "the opening of tourist season and the two countries' joint steps pertaining to foreign policy."
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The Optimar survey has also revealed Turks' dissatisfaction about last month's Western missile strike on Syria. Dasdemir said in this context that all this "indicates a crisis of confidence that has emerged among ordinary Turks towards the West."
"I think the reason for this can be attributed to the fact that Turkey does not consider the West's Syrian policy to be consistent and sincere. The West acts in accordance with its own interests, regardless of the position of other players, something that was reflected in the results of the survey", Dasdemir concluded.
2,107 people took part in the recent poll by the Turkish research company Optimar, which was specifically related to Russian-Turkish relations and April's US-UK-France missile attack against Syria. 63.9 percent of respondents supported further development of the Moscow-Ankara ties, while 56.7 percent condemned the missile attack.
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On April 14, the US, Britain and France launched a joint missile strike on Syria's military and civilian targets, following the alleged chemical attack in the Damascus suburb of Douma, which has been blamed by the West on the Syrian government.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, for its part, said that it has enough proof confirming that the Douma attack was nothing but a sham aimed at prompting the US to stage a strike against Syria.
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In June 2016, tensions began to thaw as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized in a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the incident, offering his condolences to the family of the killed Russian pilot.
In November 2017, Putin pointed out that Russian-Turkish relations "could be considered to be almost fully restored," while Erdogan noted that the bilateral ties are developing "every single minute."
The views and opinions expressed by Hilmi Dasdemir are those of the analyst and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.
