“We agreed to keep this diplomatic channel open,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we have now such a situation. We would like to overcome it,” he noted.
“Turkey has never wanted to escalate the conflict; moreover, we tried to do our best to resolve this incident that unfortunately happened,” Cavusoglu said.
“We regret that it happened, because Russia is not only our partner, but an important partner,” he added.
“We need to keep diplomatic channels open for further discussion on how to resolve this situation,” he said.
Speaking about sanctions, Cavusoglu said that “unfortunately, Russia made a number of decisions against Turkish citizens, imposed sanctions against the Turkish side, plus against civilians, businessmen, students, and that is not good.”
“We have never answered; we are the only NATO country that has not yet joined the sanctions against Russia, in spite of all the steps that have been taken by Russia,” he added. “We believe that one day common sense will prevail, and we will have to normalize our relations.”
Cavusoglu also said that he is ready at any time to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Relations between Russia and Turkey have deteriorated after Turkish Air Force jets shot down the Russian SU-24 bomber when it entered Turkish airspace Nov. 24.
After the incident the Russian president signed a decree on measures to ensure national security and on special economic measures in regard to Turkey.
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