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Moscow / AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin is to hold his first phone call with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan since Ankara downed one of Moscow’s warplanes in Syria, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation would take place on Wednesday at the “initiative of the Russian side” after the Turkish strongman sent a letter to Putin that Moscow said on Monday contained an apology. “An important step towards normalising relations was taken with the sending of President Erdogan’s letter,” Peskov told journalists. “There is no need to think that in several days it will be possible to normalise everything but work in this direction will continue.” The downing of the plane in November shattered ties between the two nations and saw Moscow slap an embargo against Turkish.