Turkish Foreign Minister in Favor of Normalization of Relations With Russia

The Foreign Minister of Turkey claims that his country is eager to normalize relations with Russia.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday his country was eager to normalize relations with Russia.

"We want to normalize relations with Russia, we are considering it not only as a neighbor, but also as an important partner. But this process can not be one-sided, we need the same understanding on the part of Russia," Turkey's top diplomat was quoted by the Vatan newspaper as saying.

He also expressed disappointment that Russia had denied it violated the Turkish airspace earlier this week.

The alleged incident involving a Su-34 fighter bomber took place on Friday, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which also said the plane had been warned by Turkish air radar units. The Russian Defense Ministry labelled the allegations unfounded propaganda.

On November 24, a Russian Su-24 jet carrying out anti-terrorist operations in Syria was shot down by Turkey as the plane had allegedly violated Turkish airspace. Russian and Syrian military officials later confirmed that the plane never crossed into Turkish airspace.

Ankara-Moscow relations deteriorated significantly following the incident, with Russia introducing a set of measures against Turkey.

The measures, which ban or restrict the activities of Turkish organizations in Russia, prohibit Russian employers to hire Turkish citizens, and introduce certain food import ban, took effect January 1, 2016.