The apology of a state leader can halt a slump in the national currency. The Turkish lira stabilized against the US dollar after the Kremlin confirmed that Turkey’s president had expressed his regret about the incident with the Russian military jet. The lira responded to this news by firming to 2.933 against the greenback. Nevertheless, BIST National, the main index of Turkey’s stock market, remained almost unaffected. President Tayyip Erdogan made an unexpected move to launch reconciliation with Russia.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russia’s President, stated that Vladimir Putin had received a letter from Erdogan "in which the Turkish leader expressed his desire to resolve the situation connected to the downing of a Russian military aircraft." In November 2015, Turkey’s military shot down a Russian Su-24 jet fighter, while it took part in the Kremlin’s anti-terror campaign in Syria. The incident triggered a series of Russian sanctions on Ankara, in particular an embargo on food imports, a ban on charter flights and visa free travel, and freezing work on a transit gas pipeline.
The apology at high level brought the diplomatic tension to a halt. The Kremlin lifted the sanctions immediately. Russian tourists are advised to visit Turkish resorts despite a series of deadly terror attacks around the country. Fruit and vegetables produced in Turkey are again acknowledged as being high quality. "We are pleased to announce that Turkey and Russia have agreed to take necessary steps without delay to improve bilateral relations," Erdogan’s spokesman said.
