Nato can't take a call on Ankara's foreign policy: Turkish envoy to Russia

Moscow, Aug 11: In the wake of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Russia to mend ties with the latter after their relations took a nosedive over the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by the Turkish forces, Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardim said the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) has no rights telling Ankara who it can build relations with and that Turkey can improve its ties with Russia despite the West's views, said Russian news agencies.

"In no way can Nato limit our contacts with other countries ... It means NATO has no right to dictate its terms and tell us who we should or should not meet and communicate with," the RIA news agency quoted Yardim as saying.

The ambassdaor also said Turkey and Russia have agreed to step up their contacts on Syria---the violence-ravaged West Asian country over which the Russians and the Turkish have differed, a report by Russia's TASS news agency said.

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