The letter marks Turkey’s efforts to mend relationships with a country it once collaborated with on a number of issues from energy to tourism, with good personal rapport reported between Erdogan and Putin. The ties between the two countries, however, had largely soured after the downing of the Russian jet last November, and Russia had imposed economic sanctions on Turkey. Russia has denied Turkey’s claims that that the jet violated its airspace, and was shot own after repeated warnings.
In an echo of the debate around the nature of the jet incident itself, there was disagreement between the two countries, and amongst international media organizations, as to the exact nature of the letter. The Kremlin has presented it as an apology, quoting Erdogan as having written “I want to once again express my sympathy and deep condolences to the family of the Russian pilot who died and I say: 'I'm sorry,'” while the Turkish President’s office and much of Turkish media has characterized it as an expression of regret at the incident and a consolation; but not an apology. Erdogan himself, in a speech Monday evening, stopped short of calling his statements an apology but restated hopes for mended relationships between Russia and Turkey.
Whatever its wording, the letter is part of what may become a major a pivot in Turkey’s foreign policy: It came on the same day as the country announced a deal with Israel to normalize relationships. Turkey has also softened its stance on Syria recently, signaling it may be willing to negotiate with Bashar al-Assad, whose departure as President was once an often-expressed must for Turkey. There are also reports that Turkey may be working to normalize ties with Egypt, another country with which Turkey’s relationships soured after the military coup against the Muslim Brotherhood government in 2013.