Turkey, Russia foreign ministers hold first talks since plane crisis

“We expressed our sadness and expressed our condolences for the Russian pilot who lost his life”, Turkish media quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying after his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade, the first high-level talks between Moscow and Anakara since the Russian Su-24 was shot down on November 24.

“Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline – TANAP can be launched sooner than it was initially scheduled”, said Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, at a joint press conference with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, on December 3. Whilst Turkey is adamant that they gave warning to the aircraft that it was passing into Turkish air space, Russian Federation insists that it was in Syria.

Russian Federation has in the last days also accused Ankara of importing oil from Islamic State jihadists in Syria, allegations that Turkey fiercely denies. “However, every inch of Azerbaijan’s territories is dear to us and its occupied territories should be liberated”, he added.

The meeting will take place on the sidelines of an Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe meeting in Belgrade, RIA news agency reported, citing a diplomatic source.

It has branded the incident a war crime and has since slapped retaliatory sanctions on Turkey, including bans on some food imports from the country.

“We met with the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry on his insistent request, we heard nothing new”, the Russian minister said according to Russia Today.

“We have no evidence of – that that is the case”. Turkey has strongly rejected Russian allegations that it has any links with the ISIL militants.