“We confirmed our views”, Lavrov said. Davutoglu spoke in favor of settling the crisis in bilateral relations that emerged after the Russian Su-24 jet was downed by Turkish aviation on November 24. “And evidently Allah made a decision to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by depriving them of their intelligence and reason”.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has conveyed condolences to Mascow for the death of Russian pilot in last week’s warplane downing on Syrian border. As well as economic sanctions on Turkey, Moscow has scrapped talks on building a pipeline to export Russian natural gas to Europe.
Ankara buys almost 60 percent of its total gas needs – around 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) – from Russian Federation via two main pipelines, which enter Turkey through the Marmara region, the country’s industrial hub which includes Istanbul, its biggest city, and the most sensitive area to any disruption in supply.
“We know for example who in Turkey fills their pockets and allows terrorists to make money from the stolen oil in Syria”, Putin said.
Turkish Premier Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday started a two-day official visit to Azerbaijan.
Davutoglu expressed his disfavor at the claims by Moscow, saying they will not help find a solution to the dispute.
Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking in Baku, Azerbaijan, again defended Turkey’s action and said Ankara would not apologise for “defending its borders”. “To sit around a table to talk – that’s the method we would prefer”.
Çavuşoğlu also revealed that he had requested to meet his Russian counterpart in Belgrade this week and was still waiting for a response, adding he does not want the current tension with Moscow to escalate.
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Mr Davutoglu said the sanctions would be detrimental to both sides. Russia, which is carrying out a military campaign in Syria in support of its longtime ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has responded with sanctions against Turkey.
