Oxu.Az with reference to APA that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said it at the press conference after a meeting with Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan.
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The public in Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as throughout the world, saw how close we are to each other.
“We have expressed sorrow and condolences in connection with the death of a Russian pilot”, Cavusoglu said after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, Interfax reported. “Perhaps there will be something new after what has already been said publicly”. The shoot-down, the first time a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation country has downed a Russian plane in more than half a century, sparked a bitter falling out between the two nations, which had developed robust economic ties.
Both sides have squabbled furiously over whether the jet breached Turkey’s air space. It also slammed an array of economic sanctions on Turkey, including a ban on imports of fruit and vegetables and the sales of tourism packages. Moscow denies the Turkish account – President Vladimir Putin called the downing a “stab in the back by accomplices of terrorists”.
Ankara responded strongly and said it could not be held responsible for defending its borders and airspace.
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Asked by a journalist on Wednesday what Ankara could possibly do to mend relations, Lavrov said relations can no longer be “business as usual” due to the “hostile” act against Moscow. “I believe our colleagues, our Turkish neighbours, should understand themselves what they must do”, he said, without elaborating.
