Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Serbia 'Welcomes' but Declines Ankara's Call to Mediate Russia-Turkey Ties

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic talk during their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, December 28, 2015

© REUTERS/ Marko Djurica
Politics

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic told Sputnik Serbia on Wednesday that he had refused Ankara's proposal to mediate the standoff between Russia and Turkey.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Nikolic's press service said in a statement that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had approached him to assist in the normalization of relations between Ankara and Moscow.
"I decided to relay Turkey's wish to our friends in Russia. That's all. I have not accepted the offer to be a mediator, but I have listened to Ankara's proposal, which I welcome," Nikolic said.
He added that Davutoglu had asked him to establish contact between Moscow and Ankara and it was his duty to pass the information about this request on to Russia, in light of the peaceful nature of the Turkish intentions. Russian-Turkish ties deteriorated following the downing of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by a Turkish F-16 on November 24 over Syria.

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