Turkish military chief set to meet Russian counterpart

By Ozcan Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar will meet his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov in Ankara on Friday, a military source said Thursday.

According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, General Gerasimov and his accompanying delegation are scheduled to meet Akar at 11 a.m. local time [0800GMT].

Ties between Moscow and Ankara entered a new phase following a meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Aug. 9 in St. Petersburg.

Relations between the two countries had soured after the downing of the Russian jet which had violated Turkish airspace on the Syrian border.

The issue seemed largely resolved on June 29 through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the countries’ leaders.

On June 30, Russia lifted a ban on tourist flights to Turkey following a phone conversation between Putin and Erdogan.

Turkish and Russian foreign ministers later met in the Russian city of Sochi on July 1.

Putin gave his support to Turkey over the July 15 coup attempt and said he stood by the elected government, offering his condolences to the victims of what Erdogan called the “most heinous” armed coup attempt in modern Turkish history.

On July 22, Russia also lifted restrictions on flights to Turkey, which had been implemented temporarily following the coup attempt, after Turkish officials assured their Russian counterparts that additional security measures were being taken.