Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Turkey and Russia had overcome the recent crisis to a great extent thanks to the leaders' strategic visioning, but there is still ground to gain for the two countries.
Speaking to Russian TASS news agency, Çavuşoğlu said there were vast opportunities for Turkey and Russia to work together as well as threats and tests to fight against, adding that Turkey has never approached relations with Russia from a narrow-minded point of view.
"Our goal is to boost the volume of trade to $100 billion annually and finalize mega projects like the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. Therefore, we must stop using terms like 'pre-crisis' or 'post-crisis' and look for ways to realize these goals," the top diplomat said.
Çavuşoğlu stressed that both countries have to take initiatives to improve relations, adding that Russia should lift remaining sanctions on Turkish agricultural products and the restrictions against Turkish companies working in Russia.
He pointed out that the economic relations between Turkey and Russia were "perfectly complementary". "Russia is the main supplier of Turkey's energy and Turkey is the best supplier of fresh fruits and vegetables to Russia," he said.
After Turkey downed a Russian warplane for violating its airspace near the Syrian border on Nov. 24 last year, the Russian government announced sanctions on Turkey in retaliation, including a ban on exports. The normalization process, which began in June, has paved the way for the lifting of sanctions.
