DUSHANBE, June 28, 2016, Asia-Plus – Quoting the Kremlin, international media outlets reported yesterday that Turkey”s president has apologized for the downing of a Russian military jet at the Syrian border.
The Associated Press, in particular, notes that this unexpected move could open the way for easing a bitter strain in Russia-Turkey ties.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan”s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin comes seven months after the incident, which has triggered a slew of Russian sanctions that have dealt a severe blow to the Turkish economy. The formal apology, which the Kremlin had requested, came hours after Turkey and Israel announced details of an agreement to repair their strained relations.
The Kremlin quoted the Turkish leader as offering his condolences to the killed pilot”s family and saying: “I”m sorry.”
“I share their pain with all my heart,” Erdogan said in the letter, according to the Kremlin. “We are ready to take any incentive to help ease the pain and the burden of inflicted damage.”
Meanwhile, Erdogan”s office was keen to describe the letter as an expression of regret, not an apology.
“In the letter, the president stated that he would like to inform the family of the deceased Russian pilot that I share their pain and to offer my condolences to them. May they excuse us,” spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said, according to The Associated Press.
The Wall Street Journal reports officials in both countries said that the Turkey-Russia rapprochement raised the prospect that Moscow would drop economic sanctions slapped on Turkey after its forces shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber last November and the pilot was killed.
Less certain was whether the two countries might work toward a compromise to facilitate peace talks for Syria, where they back opposing sides in the five-year-old war. The downed bomber was part of a Russian air campaign, begun last September, to shore up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whom Ankara says should step down.
For months Mr. Erdogan and other officials dismissed Mr. Putin’s demand for an apology, saying they had often cautioned Russian leaders about the risks their planes faced if they violated Turkish airspace, and that the pilot was warned several times. Russia denied Turkey’s assertion that the plane had strayed into its airspace, and Mr. Putin has denounced the downing as a “treacherous stab in the back.”
Mr. Erdogan changed course in the face of painful Russian sanctions: an embargo on most of Turkey’s food exports; a halt of the sale of package tours to Turkey, which depends heavily on Russian tourists; a suspension of a visa-free regime for Turkish visitors; and restrictions on Turkish construction companies that hold a strong position in the Russian market.
The Wall Street Journal reports that in a speech delivered during a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in Ankara, Erdogan said he had written to Putin expressing his “regrets” over the incident and reminding the Russian leader of the “potential for regional cooperation.”
“I believe that we will leave behind this current situation which is to the detriment of both countries and rapidly normalize our relations,” Erdogan said.
Putin had denounced the downing of the Russian warplane at the Syrian border on November 24 as a “treacherous stab in the back.” Russia rejected the Turkish claim that the plane had violated its airspace, and responded by deploying long-range air defense missiles to its base in Syria, warning that they would destroy any target posing a threat to Russian aircraft.
The plane”s downing came amid a rift between Moscow and Ankara over Syria, where they backed the opposing sides in the conflict.
Moscow moved swiftly to ban the sales of package tours to Turkey, which had depended heavily on the Russian tourist flow; banned most of Turkey”s food exports; and introduced restrictions against Turkish construction companies, which had won a sizable niche of the Russian market.
The letter reportedly comes at a moment when Ankara”s relations with the EU and the U.S. have also been strained over the migrant crisis, human rights issues and other disputes.
