MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Nikolic's press service said in a statement that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had approached him to assist in the normalization of relations between Ankara and Moscow.
"I decided to relay Turkey's wish to our friends in Russia. I have listened to Ankara's proposal, which I welcome," Nikolic said.
He added that Davutoglu had asked him to establish contact between Moscow and Ankara and it was his duty to pass the information about this request on to Russia, in light of the peaceful nature of the Turkish intentions.
Russian-Turkish ties deteriorated following the downing of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16 on November 24 over Syria.