“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,’” Erdoğan said in the letter, according to the Kremlin.

“The letter states, in particular, that Russia is a friend to Turkey and a strategic partner, with whom Turkish authorities would not wish to spoil relations,” it said, adding Erdoğan “expressed his desire to resolve the situation connected to the downing of a Russian military aircraft.” The Kremlin said Erdoğan also said Turkey was ready to react together with Russia against the crisis in the region and fight terrorism.

In related news, it was also announced that Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, will go to Sochi on July 1 to attend a regional summit where he could also meet with his Russian counterpart.

‘Sorry’ or ‘apology?’

The letter was confirmed by Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser, İbrahim Kalın, later in the day through a statement. Kalın said Erdoğan expressed his deep sorrow over the downing of the Russian warplane and extended his condolences to the families of the pilots. Kalın said Erdoğan wrote “I am sorry” in the letter although the Kremlin version cited the Turkish president as saying “I apologize.”

The letter follows a series of goodwill gestures from Turkey to Russia in a bid to normalize the bilateral relationship that has been severely hit due to heavy trade and tourism sanctions imposed by Moscow.

Earlier in the day, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım heralded “good developments” with Russia as he said they would be announced in the near future. At a press conference he held to inform the public about the agreement reached with Israel, he also heralded “good developments” that will soon to be announced as part of efforts to reconcile with Russia.

“Both the Turkish and Russian people want an end to this crisis. They both believe [this crisis] is nonsense. What falls on us as governments is to meet this expectation of our peoples without delay. There are good developments in this direction and we’ll soon announce them to our people,” Yıldırım told reporters on June 27.