Rapprochement between Moscow, Ankara only possible through open dialogue - Lavrov

MOSCOW, October 15. /TASS/. Narrowing differences between Moscow and Ankara is only possible through open dialogue, says a message of greetings of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to participants in the international conference "Russia-Turkey: Strengthening Multifaceted Partnership" read out on Thursday by Deputy Foreign Minister Alexey Meshkov. "The conference is very topical," Lavrov said. "The centuries-long history of Russia and Turkey has had its ups and downs, the periods of heated conflicts and active cooperation. The 95th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations is an opportunity not just to sum up the results of cooperation but also to discuss the prospects for expanding partnership in the new environment." The message notes that "Moscow and Ankara have different views on certain issues." "Narrowing the approaches is only possible through an open exchange of opinion and substantiated search for common ground," the Russian foreign minister noted. Lavrov once again offered sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims of the terrorist attack in Ankara that occurred on October 10. "We are ready for close cooperation with the Turkish authorities in the fight against the terrorist threat," he said. "It is necessary to pool efforts to counter this global evil." Read more