The interview came after Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in a televised address to the people of Turkey on Wednesday that Ankara needs to normalize relations with Syria in order to effectively fight terrorism.
Turkey PM remarks on Syria: "We normalized relations w Israel and Russia. I'm sure we'll go back to normal relations w Syria as well." 1/x
— Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) 13 июля 2016 г.
Sandikli, for his part, pointed out that "within the framework of the formation of the system of values and international relations, Turkish authorities realize the ineffectiveness of the policy of pressure."
"Reviewing its relations with friendly countries, allies and counterparts, Ankara is gradually moving towards the search for a strategy that would take into account the mutual interests of all parties," he said.
Sandikli also stressed the importance of the current normalization of Russian-Turkish relations in ensuring peace in Syria and throughout the Middle East.
"I want to emphasize that the first steps on bolstering ties between Turkey and Russia are of great importance. But to enhance the positive effect of this process, Turkish authorities should cooperate more with Moscow as far as Syria and the Middle East are concerned," he said.
At the same time, he said that even though Ankara has decided to change its foreign policy approach to the Syrian conflict, it has not completely abandoned its previous position on Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The letter of apology was followed by a phone conversation between Erdogan and Putin, during which they agreed to hold a personal meeting later this year.
By doing so, Ankara fulfilled one of the conditions put forward by Moscow following the incident that paralyzed the long-term partnership between the two countries.
