Russia: Putin announces start of 'normalisation of relations' with Turkey

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a “normalisation of relations” with Turkey, during a meeting with members of the government in Moscow on Wednesday.
Putin said that Moscow was lifting “administrative restrictions” in the area of tourism “even though it [takes place] amid an intensification of the terrorist threat." He added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has “assured me that the Turkish government will do its utmost to ensure the safety” of Russian citizens in Turkey.
President Putin also mentioned that during a telephone conversation with the Turkish leader earlier on Wednesday, he had “expressed condolences to the president of the country and to all Turkish people due to the terrorist attack which took place in Istanbul."
The terror attack at Ataturk Airport took the lives of at least 41 people while more than 230 people were injured.
Bilateral ties between Russia and Turkey had deteriorated after the downing of a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet by the Turkish Air Force in November last year. One pilot, Oleg Peshkov, was killed in the incident and a marine, Alexander Pozynich, was subsequently killed during a failed rescue mission to locate the second pilot.