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Russia: Normalisation of relations with Turkey will help resolve Syrian crisis

July 13, 2016 at 2:39 pm

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the normalisation of relations between his country and Turkey will help the two countries find effective solutions to the Syrian crisis.

Lavrov’s remark came in a joint press conference yesterday with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov after their meeting in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku.

“Turkey and Russia have different approaches on the Syria issue. However, after I met with [Turkish Foreign Minister] Mevlut Cavusoglu in Sochi, I can say that we will have fewer conflicts with our Turkish counterparts,” Lavrov was quoted by the Anadolu Agency as saying.

“We will conduct more pronounced negotiations for the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions, and the international group to support Syria,” he added.

Signs of improved Turkish-Russian relations began to emerge after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the end of June, in which he expressed his sadness about the downing of a Russian plane and sent condolences to the family of the deceased pilot.

The two countries’ relations deteriorated when Turkey announced in November 2015 that it had downed a Russian war plane along the Syria-Turkey border area after the plane allegedly violated Turkish airspace.