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Misunderstandings: Russia suspends gas project with Turkey amid recent tensions

The Kremlin has imposed trade sanctions on Turkey over last week’s jet incident although so far the measures have not affected the Russian energy exports to Turkey that are the core of their economic relationship.

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Ankara aims to exploit its geographical position to serve as an energy bridge for oil and natural gas supplies running from Eastern economies to Europe.

Mr Davutoglu again insisted Turkey did not know the nationality of the plane when it brought it down inside Turkish air space.

Ahead of his meeting with the Turkish top diplomat Thursday, Lavrov said at the OSCE there was no place for “terrorists” or those who have not denounced terrorism at the negotiating table, apparently referring to the groups fighting Assad who are backed by Turkey and the United States.

On Tuesday, a source familiar with the situation told RIA Novosti that talks on the Turkish Stream were suspended after a November 24 incident in which a Turkish fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in Syria.

Gas pipes worth 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) are to be left stranded on the shores of the Black Sea after Russia’s decision to suspend work on the Turkish Stream pipeline, a potent symbol of Moscow’s falling out with Ankara. We did not hear anything new.

The Russian foreign minister said he heard nothing new at the meeting, while his Turkish counterpart said the crisis was on the way to cooling down.

Against the backdrop of a meeting between Turkey and Russia’s foreign ministers in Belgrade, Davutoglu called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to wind down bilateral tensions that have been building up in the last week.

On Wednesday Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Anatoly Antonov and his colleagues, during an event at defense ministry headquarters in Moscow, showed foreign defense attaches based in Moscow satellite images purporting to show ISIL transporting oil to Turkey.

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“Therefore, everyone should act responsibly”, Cavusoglu said. Turkey has strongly rejected Russian allegations that it has any links with the ISIL militants.

Turkey says Turkish Russian minister to meet today