“They are in talks on this”.
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Russian Federation is carrying out a bombing campaign in support of President Bashar Assad while Turkey is fiercely opposed to the Syrian leader.
“Russia is a main, key and very important player in establishing peace in Syria”, Mr Erdogan said. He also called Putin a “friend”.
Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24 over the Syrian-Turkey border on November 24, 2015, an attack Vladimir Putin described at the time as a “treacherous stab in the back”.
The RDIF was established in 2011 under president and prime minister of the Russian Federation, which attracted over $27 billion of foreign capital into the Russian economy through long-term strategic partnerships, according to the fund’s website.
“We are working on that and will settle the issue in the near future”, – Putin added.
But in a surprise change-up, Putin accepted Erdogan’s apology for the incident in June, and now the two counterparts seem to be ready to patch things up.
Moscow could use economic levers to force Turkey to compromise on Syria. Turkey badly needs the flow of Russian tourists to resume, and Turkish farmers, construction companies and other businesses badly need to regain access to the Russian market, which has been shut to them after the plane’s downing.
These will also be lifted as economic ties between the countries are normalized, the leaders said.
Erdogan told Russian media that he wants to “immediately take steps” towards getting the TurkStream project started again and to finish the Akkuyu power plant.
In the wake of the failed coup, there are fears in Western capitals that Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, could draw even closer to Russian Federation – with Mr Erdogan bluntly making it clear he feels let down by the United States and European Union.
Erdogan also wants the United States to hand over Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric he accuses of having masterminded the coup.
Ties with the West have been strained in the aftermath of the coup. The Obama administration has strongly denied that.
The presidents of Turkey and Russian Federation met in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, after months of enmity between their two countries.
It is also pertinent to be mentioned here that US Secretary of State John Kerry is also expected to visit Turkey in the coming weeks to discuss the crucial issues which also includes the Turkish demand for Gulen’s extradition.
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Since July 15, tens of thousands of people from the military, judiciary, civil service and education suspected of links with the movement have been sacked or detained.
