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Russian Federation bans charter flights to Turkey

Speaking at the global climate conference in Paris, the Russian President added the decision to shoot down the Su-24 was a “huge mistake”.

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“We have received additional information which unfortunately confirms that this oil, produced in areas controlled by the ISIS and other terrorist organizations, is transported on an industrial scale to Turkey”.

“I will say something very strong here”.

Moscow’s defence ministry said Peshkov was shot dead from the ground while his comrade Konstantin Murakhtin was rescued by Russian and Syrian special forces.

Moscow said earlier in the day that it would ban mainly imports of agricultural products from Turkey after the Turkish military downed a Russian warplane last week that Ankara said had breached Turkish airspace while flying missions in Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is prepared to step down if Russian Federation can prove otherwise.

Erdogan has called claims that Turkey buys oil from Islamic State “slander”. “Everyone needs to know this”.

“We have every reason to believe that a decision to shoot down our plane was prompted by a desire to ensure security of that oil to the territory of Turkey and on to sea ports for loading into tankers”, he said.

Russia is Turkey’s second-largest trading partner, while more than three million Russian tourists visited Turkey previous year.

The new measures outlined at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also include a government veto on Turkish construction firms working in Russian Federation and restrictions on road transport.

While Russia banned imports of such Turkish staples as tomatoes, the ban did not cover nuts and lemons for which Russia relies nearly entirely on Turkey.

Turkey and Russian Federation have important economic links.

According to Egyptian newspaper Daily News Egypt, Russia has banned all charter flights between Russia and Turkey, while also banning sales of tour packages to the country.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday that Ankara would not apologise to Russian Federation for shooting down the Su24 tactical bomber.

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Russian Federation has been carrying out air strikes in Syria, targeting rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including IS. “Turkish airspace, protection of Turkish airspace, Turkish borders is a national duty and our army did their job to protect this airspace”.

Ahmet Davutoglu