Russia, Turkey want to restore bilateral relations - Putin

ST. PETERSBURG, August 9. /TASS/. Russia and Turkey hope to restore relations between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday. The Russian leader noted that the bilateral Russian-Turkish relations had reached a very high level in previous years. "However, after the well-known tragedy that claimed the life of our military service member last November, they have degraded reaching a low-point." "Your current visit, despite the very difficult political situation in Turkey, shows that we all want to resume our dialogue and restore relations for the sake of the interests of the Turkish and Russian peoples," Putin told Erdogan. The Russian leader also emphasized that he was one of the first to call his Turkish counterpart and express support in overcoming the political crisis caused by the coup attempt. "I want to say once again that this is our principled stance. We always firmly oppose any unconstitutional actions," the Russian president said. "In this regard, I want to express the hope that under your leadership the Turkish people will cope with this problem, and law and order will be restored," Putin added. Read more