Russia’s direct military involvement in Syria’s civil war since September to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s position against opposition groups has, in fact, signaled that ties between Turkey and Russian Federation are also under strain. One of the jet’s two pilots was shot as he parachuted from the stricken plane and a crew member of a rescue helicopter was shot dead by rebels in Syria.
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“They [our planes] have identification signs and these are well visible”, Putin said. Erdogan told CNN that Russian Federation, not Turkey, should be the one to apologise for the incident.
Moreover, the Russians have already begun to embarrass the Turkish government by releasing information they have about Turkey’s alleged support for ISIL, provided they have something tangible.
The head of Russia’s tourism agency, Rostourism, said cooperation with Turkey would “obviously” be halted.
Oddly, Erdogan conceded that a “short-term border violation can never be a pretext for an attack”, but followed this up by reiterating that they are going to view planes in northern Syria “as a military threat and treated as a military target”.
Last week, Hollande called for the USA and Russian Federation to set aside their policy divisions over Syria and “fight this terrorist army in a broad, single coalition”.
According to Medvedev, measures taken by Russian Federation will be temporary and depend on the development of Moscow-Ankara relations and worldwide situation.
In early October, Russian warplanes breached Turkish airspace for which Russian officials apologized and pledged that no such incident would be repeated; Turkey had also renewed its warning to implement engagement rules, including a military response against violations of Turkish airspace. He said Ankara argued in that case that a brief incursion wasn’t reason to shoot down its jet.
“It looks very much like a planned provocation”, Lavrov said.
Putin has also accused Turkey of buying oil from the Islamic State jihadist group, whose financing heavily relies on the sale of energy resources. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for both attacks.
US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande, meeting in Washington, urged against an escalation, while NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance stood in solidarity with Turkey.
“We are ready to cooperate with the coalition which is led by the United States”.
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“Now, ‘the gloves are off, ‘ so to speak, so I expect that diplomatic niceties are over”.
