US ‘Closely’ Monitoring Russia-Turkey Growing Relationship

Supreme Allied Commander Europe and US European Command chief US Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said that the United States is closely watching the growing ties between Turkey and Russia, but considers the recent thaw in relations positive.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States is closely watching the growing ties between Turkey and Russia, but considers the recent thaw in relations positive, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and US European Command (EURCOM) chief US Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said.

"We will watch closely how this relationship develops," Scaparrotti told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Thursday. "I would be concerned if they were departing from the values that are the bedrock of the Washington Treaty [founding NATO] — the rule of law."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next month.

"We encouraged Turkey to try and recover from the shootdown and solve that problem with the Russians so that was good," Scaparrotti added.

In June Erdogan apologized to Russia and Putin for the shooting down of a Russian Sukhoi bomber carrying out strikes against Islamist targets in Syria last year.