President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia is ready to consider restoring ties with Ankara but Turkey seems to be reluctant to put relations back on track.
“Even now I cannot understand why they shot down the plane.Our forces are not fighting in Syria against regular forces but against formations and we never thought that the Turkish [military] … could shoot our own aircraft,” Putin told reporters when asked about Moscow-Ankara relations, which have been strained since late November.
Puting was referring to the downing of Russian bomber SU-24 in Turkish airspace on November 24.The jet was shot down in accordance with Turkey's rules of engagement after it failed to heed repeated warnings not to violate Turkish airspace.
Four days after the incident, a diplomatic crisis has erupted between the two countries.Turkish authorities submitted radar data to prove Russia's intrusion into its territory while Moscow insisted that the SU-24 had not breached the border. Russian imposed a series of economic sanctions against Turkey in reprisal for its downing the plane.
“We heard,” he continued, “that there is a desire to restore our relations and we also have such a desire. We will do our utmost to bring Russian-Turkish relations to a very high level,” he said, emphasizing that desire and statements are not enough to restore relations.
Putin has also claimed he never received any explanation from Turkey. “We are still waiting for explanations. Still there are none.”
Putin began a two-day state visit to Athens on Friday with a high-level delegation including several ministers,CEOs of energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft and other prominent businessmen.
The visit has been centered on to boost mutual ties between Moscow and Athens. Putin has signed a range of cooperation deals with Athens in a sign of bolstering ties in the fields of economy, energy and education.
On Saturday, the visiting Russian leader will head for Thessaloniki, where he will meet with Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias. Putinwill then visit the Orthodox monastery on Mt. Athos, where he is expected to be officially welcomed by his Greek counterpart, Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
