Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had sent a letter to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in which he expressed wish to see bilateral relations “rise to the level they deserve” in the future, Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday.

In the letter, sent on Sunday, Erdogan congratulated Putin on the occasion of Russia Day, which is marked on June 12, the news agency quoted Turkish presidential sources as saying.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has also sent a message to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, congratulating him on the occasion of Russia Day. 

According to Turkish broadcaster NTV, in his letter Yildirim expressed hope that relations between Ankara and Moscow would rise to the level "needed for the implementation of the mutual interests" of the two countries, Russian news agency TASS reported on Tuesday.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara have soured after the downing of a Russian warplane by a Turkish Air Force jet near the border with Syria in November last year

While Ankara claims that the Russian aircraft violated Turkish airspace, Moscow maintains that the Russian plane had stayed within Syrian airspace. Following the incident, Russia imposed economic sanctions on Turkey including a ban on certain food imports.

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