The two leaders also discussed implementing a ceasefire in Ukraine.
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has refused to meet with Turkish President Erdogan during the climate summit in Paris.
BRUSSELS (AP) – Defying calls from Moscow, Turkey’s prime minister said Monday that his country won’t apologize to Russian Federation for shooting down a warplane operating over Syria, saying the Turkish military was doing its job defending the national airspace.
The Turkey-based agency did not provide further details.
Russian football clubs have been banned from signing Turkish players during the forthcoming transfer window due strained relations between the two countries.
The Russian prime minister added that special measures against Turkey would be “a matter of high sensitivity for the Turkish side”, but would not harm the economic interests of Russia, Sputnik reported. The authorities, however, stopped short of targeting Russia’s major joint energy projects with Turkey.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told The Associated Press on Sunday that he’s deeply concerned about tensions between Russia and Turkey after Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane on November 24. One of the Russian pilots was killed, while a second was rescued.
There have been several anti-Turkish protests in cities across Russian Federation since the shoot-down. But as the pilot’s body was flown back, the diplomatic tit-for-tat rumbled on with neither side looking set to back down.
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Erdogan is among Assad’s most outspoken critics, and Russia’s bombardment of certain opposition groups in Syria has put Ankara and Moscow at odds.
