Restoring Russia-Turkey relations through ministerial dialogue

(Baonghean.vn) - Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on the evening of July 26 (local time) that negotiations on restoring Russia-Turkey relations will officially begin today after a meeting on the same day between him and his counterpart Nihat Zeybekci.

Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev (left) met with his Turkish counterpart Nihat Zeybekci to restore relations between the two countries. Photo: Getty Images.

"We have made a breakthrough in agreeing on a framework agreement on the further development of bilateral relations, through medium-term economic cooperation programs, agreements on liberalization of services and investments, and the establishment of a Russian-Turkish Joint Investment Fund. We have also agreed to resume the negotiations after a period of interruption," Ulyukayev said after the meeting.

“We have determined that the process of resuming negotiations begins now and we know what obstacles need to be removed now. This concerns not only the dark events of November 2015, but also the possibility of entering the market, air transport, visa regime and conditions for exchanging customs information,” Mr. Ulyukayev said.

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci also said that the Russia-Turkey Intergovernmental Commission will meet again in Türkiye in October 2016.

"We agreed to hold the Committee meetings every three months, with the participation of Russian Economy Minister Alexey Ulyukayev," said Mr. Zeybekci.

Previously, the Russian government suspended the activities of the Russia-Turkey Intergovernmental Commission in December 2015. At that time, the Russian side was represented by Energy Minister Alexander Novak.

Relations between Russia and Türkiye deteriorated after the incident on November 24, 2015, when a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M, claiming that the Russian plane had violated its airspace near the Syrian border. The Russian Defense Ministry later said that the SU-24M was flying over Syrian territory and had never violated Turkish airspace.

President Putin also warned that the incident would have serious consequences for bilateral relations between the two countries.

By the end of June 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter of apology to Russian President Vladimir Putin for this unfortunate accident.

Thanh Hien

(According to Tass)