"There was a lot of different ideas, including from the Turkish side, about the necessity to restore the relations. And our leader [President Vladimir Putin] mentioned it during the latest contacts with journalists. Although, the Turkish side has not made any steps yet, which would allow to start normalization of the relations. And that is why this issues is hanging in the air," Ushakov told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu proposed to form a joint working group with Russia in a bid to restore the the Ankara-Moscow relations, which deteriorated after the downing of a Russian military plane by a Turkish fighter jet in Syria on November 24, 2015.
Moscow imposed a number of restrictive measures on Turkey in response to what Russian President Vladimir Putin classified as a "stab in the back."
Russia's retaliatory measures against Ankara include, in particular, restrictions on the activities of Turkish organizations in Russia, an embargo on Russian employers hiring Turkish citizens and a ban on certain food imports since January 1, 2016.
