Turkish PM expresses desire to strengthen ties with Syria

According to ministry sources, members of the delegation – which arrived in the strip on Sunday evening – will meet both Israeli officials and representatives of Gaza’s Hamas-run government to discuss means of resolving the problems facing the territory’s energy sector.

“In the nearest time we are planning to hold a meeting [with Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev] Maybe it will take place in Kazan or Moscow”.

On June 30, Russian Federation lifted a ban on tourist flights to Turkey following a telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and his President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Putin’s call was a response to the message of Erdogan, in which he had apologized for the downed Russian bomber over Syria and expressed an interest in resolving the situation. The goal has been repeatedly reconfirmed before the deterioration of bilateral relations in 2015.

After the conversation, Putin instructed the government to enter into negotiations with Turkey to restore cooperation in trade and other areas.

In 2009, Syria’s ambassador to the United States told an audience at the University of Oklahoma that “Turkey is Syria’s best friend”.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister, for his part, said Azerbaijan was quite pleased with the rapprochement between Turkey and Russian Federation. As ties are restored, each country will return its ambassador, and the two sides could even enter talks on a natural gas pipeline. Moscow put the blame for the incident on the Turkish authorities.