Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin hasn’t ruled out that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered apologies to Moscow for the downed Su-24 fighter jet and the death of its pilot under an outside pressure. He told the aforementioned Tuesday in an interview with Russia 24 TV Channel.

“We can suppose that there are several motives. This is first of all the realization that such a stupid position of the Turkish political leadership has put the country in a dire state.Second, I don’t exclude advice or perhaps even political pressure from the side of other partners of Turkey,” the Speaker said.

He also added that he considers Ankara’s apologetic message as a positive step.  At the same time, Naryshkin finds it odd that the relevant step wasn’t made immediately, once the Russian jet was downed and the pilot killed.

To the question as to whether Russia can resume its relations with Turkey, the State Duma Speaker noted: “I think, it gradually can.”