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Downing of Russian Plane in Syria

Russia’s sanctions have placed a ban or limit foreign economic operations that import “certain goods” from Turkey but so far haven’t specified which items.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a “stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists”.

Erdogan said he wished the incident had not happened but continued to defend Turkey’s actions. It doesn’t specify what goods are to be banned or give other details, but it also calls for ending chartered flights from Russia to Turkey and for Russian tourism companies to stop selling vacation packages that would include a stay in Turkey.

Turkey said it shot the Russian Su-24 bomber, part of a deployment of Russian air power striking targets in Syria, because the plane briefly crossed into Turkish airspace, a charge that Russia denies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to apologise to Russian Federation over the incident.

Suspended by the same decree, starting January 1, 2016, is the accord exempting Turkish travelers to Russian Federation from the requirement to have a visa.

“I’m really saddened”, Erdogan said.

Turkey, which is a member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and of a US-led coalition in the region, insists Mr Assad must step down before any political solution to the Syrian conflict is found.

“Both sides will, as agreed and with immediate effect, step up their active cooperation on migrants who are not in need of global protection, preventing travel to Turkey and the European Union, ensuring the application of the established bilateral readmission provisions and swiftly returning migrants who are not in need of worldwide protection to their countries of origin”, the draft says.

A war plane crashing in flames in a mountainous area in northern Syria after it was shot down by Turkish fighter jets near the Turkish-Syrian border, is seen in this still image taken from video on November 24, 2015. In one incident last week, residents of the city of Ulyanovsk tore down a Turkish flag that was flying over the Turkish-affiliated Efes brewery and raised the flag of Russian Airborne Troops in its place.

The U.S. and Turkey agreed to coordinate their efforts against ISIS in July, but the Journal points out that little progress has been made since that agreement, due to policy disagreements and complications within Syria, particularly Russia’s military intervention on behalf of Syrian president Bashar Assad, who Turkey and the U.S. oppose.

But Mr Putin has firmly rejected any suggestion Turkey did not recognise the plane as Russian.

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“We have been telling our Russian friends that their bombardments against civilians on our border is creating new waves of refugees which do not go to Russia or to any other country but are coming to Turkey”, he said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara Turkey