Russian Lawmakers to Contribute to Restoring 'Neighborly Relations' With Turkey

Russian lawmakers will do their utmost to assist in mending ties between Moscow and Ankara, Valentina Matvienko, the speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament, said Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — She added that inter-parliamentary cooperation was an important aspect in bilateral relations as it helps achieve mutual understanding.

"The Federal Assembly, the Federation Council will make every effort to normalize and restore our neighborly relations [with Turkey]," Matvienko said at a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Russian-Turkish relations have deteriorated following the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria by the Turkish Air Force. At the beginning of 2016, Russia has imposed a number of restrictive measures, including a ban on charter flights, food and flowers imports.

The relations normalized in June after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized for the incident. In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would gradually lift economic restrictions imposed on Turkey.