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Turkey and Russia do not have 'luxury' of unfriendly ties - Turkish minister

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and Russia do not have the luxury of unfriendly relations, Turkey's EU minister said on Thursday, two days after Turkish jets shot down a Russian plane along the Syria border.

Speaking in Ankara, Volkan Bozkir said he expected ties with Moscow to be maintained following the incident, which elicited a furious response from President Vladimir Putin.

Bozkir also said that progress was expected on Turkey's stalled bid to join the EU, with chapter 17 of the accession process -- dealing with economy and monetary policy -- due to be opened on December 14-15.

(Reporting by Tulay Karadeniz, writing by Jonny Hogg; Editing by Ece Toksabay)