“We are exploring how we can offset this”, a Turkish energy official said. Putin called the incident a “stab in the back by the accomplices of terrorism”, accusing Turkey of aiding fanatical Islamist groups in Syria and promising sanctions in retaliation.
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“It is precisely with this money that the bandits recruit mercenaries, buy arms and organize inhuman terrorist acts aimed against our citizens, the citizens of France, Lebanon, Mali and other countries”.
Ankara expects a “recovery” in its strained relationship with Russian Federation, but warned that the process would require patience, Turkey’s foreign minister said.
“TANAP and Baku-Tbilisi and Ceyhan, as two big projects, are the main channels to transfer oil and natural gas sources from the Caspian to the Mediterranean and Europe”, he said. Russian Federation insists that the plane did not cross from Syria and accused Turkey of a deliberate provocation.
“Apparently Allah chose to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by taking their sanity”, he jibed. Davutoglu suggested for the first time, however, that the plane was brought down because Turkey could not “morally” allow the plane to trespass on Turkish territory before bombing Turkmen areas in Syria Turkey said it shot down the plane after it violated its airspace despite repeated warnings.
President Aliyev said Azerbaijan wants there to be peace and tranquility in the region, no confrontations, and that all the peoples lived in peace and no one intervened in others’ internal affairs.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Thursday work on Turkish Stream, a pipeline meant to pump Russian gas into southeastern Europe via Turkey while bypassing Ukraine, had been suspended. “So, it is hard to say what shape it might take but the fact that this problem has been recognized as a central one can not be denied”.
According to Russia Today, Lavrov said after the meeting that he had heard nothing new from his Turkish counterpart regarding Ankara’s position on the downing of Russia’s bomber during an operation near the Syrian-Turkish border.
On Wednesday, Russia’s top brass accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family of personally profiting from the alleged trade.
Erdogan on Thursday claimed that the largest dealer for the IS oil is a Syrian who also has a Russian passport.
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Ahmet Davutoglu speaking in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday again defended Turkey’s action and said Ankara would not apologize for “defending its borders”.
