Lavrov touts normalized ties with Ankara as catalyst for Syria solution

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that the normalization of relations between Moscow and Ankara would aid the discussions for a resolution to the conflict in Syria.

“All this will have a positive impact on the overall situation in the region and importantly, I hope it (the normalization of TurkishRussian relations) will help us to search more efficiently for joint approaches to the settlement of the Syrian crisis,” Lavrov said at a joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart Elmar Mamediarov.

He said that talks held on June 30 with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu have left him feeling optimistic about an agreement to implement UN Security Council decisions as well as those by the International Support Group for Syria.

On June 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the normalization of relations with Turkey after his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized for the downing of a Russian bomber Su24 on the Turkish border with Syria.

After that incident on Nov. 24 2015, which led to the killing of one of the two pilots of the Su24, Russia adopted a battery of economic sanctions against Turkey.