ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko has said that Russia is prepared to “unfreeze” and normalize its relations with Turkey if Ankara takes responsibility for its shooting down of a Russian warplane last November. “Russia-Turkey relations are not at their best, to put it mildly. As you know, we are not to blame for the deterioration of the relations. We are ready to unfreeze them if the Turkish leadership recognizes its responsibility in downing a Russian aircraft over Syrian territory. However, there are not such hints from the Turkish side,” she told the Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 Fencer warplane over the Syrian-Turkish frontier last November 24 after that warplane briefly violated its airspace. That action led the Kremlin to slap sanctions on Ankara, cut down its exports to that country and discourage its tourists from traveling to Turkey. Additionally Russia deployed advanced S-400 air defense missile systems to its base in Syria and air superiority jet fighter aircraft to the country. As speaker of Russia’s parliament Matviyenko occupies the third highest position in the Russian government, third only to the President and Prime Minister. Meaning if both were incapacitated she would become the Acting President of Russia.
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