Finnish President Claims He ‘Mediated Messages’ Between Putin, Erdogan

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said that he facilitated messages between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber on November 24.

During an Yle Radio 1 question and answer session on Saturday, Sauli Niinistö said that he had 'mediated messages' between the Russian and Turkish leaders.

“I don’t want to promote myself as a peacemaker, but I think a country this size has a role to play in building relations between the East and West. It just so happened that I had separate meetings with President Erdogan and President Putin and each had a message for the other. So you see, small players like us do have a purpose,” Sauli Niinistö said.

The Finnish President also emphasized the potential role of the EU as a peace mediator. He said he hopes the European Union's significance in international relations will grow, Yle reported.

Earlier, Azerbaijan offered itself as a 'peace broker' between Russia and Turkey.

On November 24, a Russian Su-24 bomber was shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet. Ankara claimed that the Russian plane had entered Turkish airspace before it was shot down.

The Russian Defense Ministry rejected Turkey's version of events, saying the downed jet had not violated Turkish airspace and that it was within Syrian airspace.