By Burcu Arik
ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkish and Russian leaders agreed Wednesday that Turkey-Russia relations had been fully restored since November 2015, when Turkey shot down a Russian military jet over airspace violation.
The announcement came during a joint news conference between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who met in Russia’s coastal town of Sochi to discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues.
Putin said that Russia’s relations with Turkey had fully recovered and the trade volume had stopped falling.
“Russia-Turkey normalization period is now complete. We are getting back to a normal cooperative partnership,” the Russian president said.
Erdogan said Turkey and Russia were “beyond normalization” and entering “a new phase,” adding both countries were working hard to revive the relations.
Turkish president said the relations between the two countries had gained a special status and the two could change the destiny of the whole region together.
“We have a very serious responsibility on our shoulders. And I am sure that the steps we take together will change the destiny of the whole region,” Erdogan said.
Turkey-Russia relations which had remained soured until the jet downing crisis seemed largely resolved last year in June through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the countries’ leaders.
