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Russia-Turkey normalization may have positive effect on Syrian settlement — ambassador

Russia's ambassador says the two countries' cooperation may influence common counter-terrorist efforts

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Normalization of relations with Turkey may have a positive effect on the settlement of the Syrian crisis, Russia’s ambassador to Syria, Aleksandr Kinshchak, has told TASS.

"If we manage to establish partnership and if anti-terror will take center stage, this will have the most favorable effect on the situation in Syria," the diplomat said. "The normalization of relations with Turkey may have a positive effect on the settlement of the Syrian crisis and influence common counter-terrorist efforts accordingly.

On Wednesday, June 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in response to Erdogan’s message in which he apologized for the downed Russian Sukhoi-24 jet and expressed interest in settling the situation. The Kremlin received the message seven months after the tragedy. The conversation between the two presidents was their first direct contact since November 2015.