MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. Russia’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said on Sunday Turkey’s actions after its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s apologies for the downed Russian warplane should be taken cautiously.
"Erdogan’s decision [to offer apologies to Russia - TASS] stemmed largely from understanding that Turkey is finding itself in isolation due to his fault. Let us wait and see what he does further. But I would be cautious in any case," Chizhov said in an interview with Russia’s NTV television channel.
The Russian diplomat excluded any links between Britain’s referendum on exit from the European Union and Turkey’s apologies for the downed Russian warplane. He said Turkey must have been pushed to this step by the United States’ position of the problem of the Kurds and Germany’s recognition of genocide of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
A Russian Su-24 bomber taking part in an anti-terrorist operation in Syria was downed by the Turkish air force in November 2015. Moscow demanded Ankara apologize for the incident, punish those responsible and pay compensation for the damage.
On Monday, July 27, Turkish President Recep Tayyp Erdogan reportedly offered his apologies for the downed Russian warplane in his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Apart from that, he expressed interest in settling this situation.