YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, speaking about President Erdogan’s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said they are ready to pay compensation for the Russian downed jet if needed, reports “Anadolu”.

“The content of the letter is very clear. We express our regret. We say that we are sharing the pain felt by those who lost loved ones. We say that we will pay compensation, if needed. These relations must be restored”, Yildirim said.

He also informed that Putin and Erdogan will soon hold a phone conversation.

The incident involving the downing of the Russian Su-24 bomber led to the worst deterioration of Turkish-Russian relations in recent history, with Russia describing it as a “stab in the back.”  After the incident, Putin signed a decree on taking steps aimed at ensuring the national security and imposing concrete economic sanctions against Turkey. The Russian leadership announced that the restoration of the Russian-Turkish relations will be possible only when the current Turkish leadership will officially apologize to Moscow and will compensate the families of the affected staff of the Russian jet and helicopter.

On June 27 Vladimir Putin has received a letter in which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized for the death of the Russian pilot who was killed when a Russian jet was downed over the Syrian-Turkish border last November. Erdogan expressed readiness to restore relations with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. “The head of the Turkish state expressed his deep sympathy and condolences to the relatives of the deceased Russian pilot and said ‘sorry,’” Peskov said. In his letter, Erdogan called Russia “a friend and a strategic partner” of Ankara, with whom the Turkish authorities would not want to spoil relations. “We never had a desire or a deliberate intention to down an aircraft belonging to Russia,” the letter read, according to a statement published on the Kremlin website.