Kremlin rejects Erdoğan's offer to meet face-to-face with Putin, suspends visa-free travels with Turkey
|EPA Photo


Kremlin rejects President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's offer to meet face-to-face with Putin during the meeting in Paris both leaders are scheduled to attend on November 30.President Erdoğan called on Moscow to de-escalate the situation as the two countries have been neighbors for centuries with strong bilateral ties."There is a huge potential for cooperation between Turkey and Russia. We do not want this event to hurt this potential cooperation. Our countries are the ones that will be damaged by this. Let us not allow this to happen," Erdoğan said and added that a meeting with Putin is possible and we would like this to happen face-to-face.Kremlin was quick to respond to Erdoğan's call made during his speech saying Erdoğan's offer to meet with Putin has been rejected.Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said on Friday that Russia is looking to suspend visa-free travels between Turkey and Russia.On November 24, two Turkish F-16 fighter jets on an aerial patrol intercepted a Russian warplane within rules of engagement when it violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border.The Russian warplane received 10 warnings about its violation within five minutes before it was shot down.This was not the first time Russian warplanes had violated Turkish airspace. In October, Russian warplanes violated Turkish airspace after which Russian officials had apologized and pledged that such incidents would not reoccur in the future