Russian-Turkish Businessmen Association vows to continue relations with Turkey

MOSCOW - Doğan News Agency

AA photo

Constructive relations between Turkey and Russia will not be interrupted by the Nov. 24 downing of a Russian jet, the Russian-Turkish Businessmen Association (RTİB) has said in a statement.

“Hereby, we would like to express our confidence in the uninterrupted continuation of constructive relations between Russia and Turkey, which are connected with historical and cultural ties, no matter what the difficulties are,” the association said in a written statement, calling for an immediate normalization of relations between the two countries.

The association also sent their condolences to Russia over the Russian jet incident, in the same statement.

Two Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian SU-24 jet on Nov. 24 near the Syrian border after it reportedly violated Turkish airspace, marking the first time a NATO member had downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s.