Russian-Turkish cooperation meeting cancelled

ANKARA

The meeting of the High-Level Cooperation Council, which is an intergovernmental cooperation mechanism between Russia and Turkey, will not be held on Dec. 15, according to sources from the Turkish president's office.

Relations between Ankara and Moscow have been tense since a Russian fighter jet which violated Turkish airspace was shot down by Turkish forces after repeated warnings, on Nov. 24.

Russia is the host country for the meeting in 2015. The two countries have trade totaling more than $30 billion.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin did not meet in Paris when both attended the opening of the COP21 climate change conference on Nov. 30, despite a request from Ankara.

The council meeting was aimed to increase bilateral relations between the two nations, and was initiated during former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Ankara on May 12, 2010.