Why is Turkish-Russian normalization progressing at a snail's pace?

In parallel with increased diplomatic traffic between Ankara and Moscow, relevant mechanisms to provide a better and more efficient civil society dialogue have been re-activated between Turkey and Russia as part of efforts to fully normalize bilateral relations. 

A good example of this effort was observed in Moscow on Dec. 13 as experts, journalists, diplomats, businessmen and prominent figures came together at a meeting initiated by the Eurasian Talks Panel in cooperation with Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC). The theme chosen by the Eurasian Talks - an intellectual discussion platform exploring the economic, political and strategic potential of the Eurasian region - was "Evaluating Turkish-Russian Relations from an Economic Perspective." 

Readers of the Hürriyet Daily News will hear more about the panel in the coming days, but this column will first try to analyze the state of the normalization process between Ankara and Moscow. 

A process that would bring about normalization between the two countries began after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in late June expressing Turkey's regret over the downing of the Russian jet on Nov. 24, 2015, killing a Russian pilot. The first meetings were carried out by the foreign ministers of the two countries in July and the much-anticipated encounter between Erdoğan and Putin took place on Aug. 9 in St. Petersburg. 

Erdoğan and Putin met two more times, in China on the sidelines of a G20 Summit and in Istanbul on the occasion of the World Energy Council. Turkey and Russia held a joint economic council meeting in October and a political planning meeting in late November in Alanya between their two foreign ministers, before Prime Minister...