Turkish President's Chief Adviser Expects Speedy Thaw in Ankara-Moscow Relations

Chief adviser to the Turkish president, Ilnur Cevik, told Sputnik Wednesday he expected not only normalization of the relations between Turkey and Russia, but a speedy thaw in relations that would bring the two countries much closer to each other.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in St. Petersburg for the first talks to reset bilateral relations after the November 2015 downing of a Russian aircraft by Turkey.

"The way I see it, we will not only be seeing a normalization of the relations between Turkey and Russia but we will also observe a speedy warming of relations that will bring the two countries as well as the people of Turkey and Russia much closer together. This is good news for regional peace and security and, of course, for world peace," Cevik said.

Turkey and Russia are not only neighbors but also key players of the region as well, he stressed.

"Under President Putin, Russia has emerged as a respected and valuable member of the international community. So when the two leaders meet it is not only important for the people of the two countries but it is also important for our region and world peace," Cevik added.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara soured last November after a Turkish jet shot down a Russian plane on the Syrian border. The ties between the two countries started warming up again after the Turkish president offered his condolences to the family of the slain Russian pilot in June.

Ankara and Moscow ended seven months of strained relations in late June when Erdogan wrote a letter to Putin, in which he apologized for the Su-24 incident.