Russia will seek to develop the relations with Turkey, the murder of the Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov will not affect them in any way, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced during his annual press-conference.
According to him, the murder of Karlov is primarily an attack on Russia and the Russian-Turkish relations. The president said that before he had been skeptical that the aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces could have been shot down without an order of the senior authorities by those who wanted to harm the bilateral relations. Now, however, the head of the state begins to change his opinion and believes that the penetration of the destructive elements to the structures of the state and army is quite possible.
The Russian leader stressed that this will not prevent the development of the Russian-Turkish relations. "We will strive to develop them, referring to the Turkish, but not least Russia's interests. Previously, we were able to find compromises. Let's continue to do so in the future,’’ Vladimir Putin concluded.
Speaking about the liberation of Aleppo, the head of state underlined that a huge role in the settlement, which was associated with retaking of the settlements inhabited by the Shiite Islam representatives, was played by the authorities and, in particular, by the presidents of Turkey and Iran. However, it would not be possible without the participation of Russia.
According to Putin, this cooperation in a trilateral format has played a crucial role in addressing the issues of Aleppo. The Russian leader pointed out that the final stage was implemented without fighting. Tens of thousands of people, both the representatives of the radical movements and women and children, a total of more than 100 thousand people were evacuated from Aleppo in exchange for thousands of residents of other settlements.
The head of the state said, that the world's largest international humanitarian action could not be accomplished without the authorities and the presidents of Iran and Turkey, as well as Russia - and without the goodwill and work of President Bashar al-Assad and his team. ‘’Such a format is in demand, we will continue to develop it,’’ Putin said.
