MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The assembly made a decision to renew the friendship group relationship with the State Duma, following a thaw in relations between Moscow and Ankara, the news agency reported citing a parliamentary official speaking on condition of anonymity.
The two parliaments had suspended their friendship group relationship amid deterioration of bilateral ties after the November 2015 downing of a Russian aircraft, with two pilots on board, by Turkey over Syria. Pilot Oleg Peshkov managed to catapult himself out of the plane but was subsequently killed by ground fire.
In June, the tensions began to thaw since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the incident and offered his condolences to the family of the killed Russian pilot.
