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Erdogan sends first official letter to Putin after Su-24 jet incident

The Turkish president expressed the hope for the restoration of relations between the two countries

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan EPA/LEGNAN KOULA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

© EPA/LEGNAN KOULA

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Kremlin says only Ankara’s steps can resolve problems in Russia-Turkey ties

ANKARA, June 14. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed the hope for the restoration of relations between the two countries, Erdogan’s press service told TASS on Tuesday.

The press service confirmed that President Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of Russia Day. It is the first official letter since last year, the press service said. However, the Turkish leader's office said that it had no permission so far to publish the contents of the letter.

Meanwhile, the NTV channel reported that Erdogan said in this letter that he hoped that the relationship between Russia and Turkey would come to a level "it deserves."

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The TV channel also reported that Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the occasion of Russia Day that is marked on June 12. Yildirim wrote in his letter that he hoped that the relationship between Turkey and Russia would come to the necessary level for the realization of their mutual interests.

Relations between Russia and Turkey deteriorated sharply after a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet downed a Russian Su-24M bomber in the sky over Syria on November 24, 2015.

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The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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