Antalya, the Mediterranean Turkish city that has long been a popular vacation resort for Russians, may be the place to thaw the current icy relationship between Russia and Turkey after the latter shot down a Russian fighter jet violating its airspace last year. Russian expats in the city hosted an iftar (fast-breaking dinner) for locals on Sunday evening in a bid to promote a message of peace between the two nations.The dinner followed an event to launch Russia's stand at EXPO 2016, a botanical expo in Antalya. At the same venue, local officials and Russia's Antalya Consul-General Vyacheslav Mikhaylov joined a large crowd for the iftar dinner. Irina Balcı, head of the local Russian expat association that organized the event, said the dinner was a sign of their respect for Turkish culture and religion. She called the expats, who are mostly married to Turkish citizens, a "big family" with locals. "We sat down here at iftar tables to show Turkish-Russian friendship. We can talk and eat together. Turkish and Russian people have no problems and we hope and pray that problems between the two countries will end soon."Russian Consul-General Vyacheslav Mikhaylov said Turkish-Russian relations have been going through a difficult period and underlined tensions were "between the states, not the peoples."