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Russia targets Turkish economy over downed warplane
By Anna SMOLCHENKO and Fulya OZERKAN in Ankara
Moscow (AFP) Nov 26, 2015


Turkey would have acted differently if it had known jet was Russian: Erdogan
Istanbul (AFP) Nov 26, 2015 - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that Turkey would have acted differently if it had known a warplane its forces downed on the Syrian border was Russian.

"If we had known if it was a Russian plane maybe we would have warned it differently," Erdogan told France 24 television.

He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had not answered his call after Tuesday's incident that has seriously damaged ties between two rival players in the Syrian conflict.

"I called Mr Putin but until now he never answered my call," he said.

Turkey's military said the Su-24 bomber was shot down by two of its F-16s after it violated Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period on Tuesday.

Russia however said no warning had been given and that the aircraft did not violate Turkish airspace.

Tuesday's incident prompted a tough response from Moscow, a major trade partner and Turkey's largest energy supplier.

Putin has branded the act as a "stab in the back" by "accomplices of terrorists."

But Erdogan denied Ankara was collaborating with the Islamic State and again denied claims that Turkey had bought any oil from the Islamic State group.

"Of course they are lies, they are slander," Erdogan told France 24.

"We have never, never had this kind of commercial relationship with any terror organisation. They have to prove it, and if they can, Tayyip Erdogan will leave office."

Turkey also Thursday summoned the Russian ambassador to Ankara over a violent demonstration outside its embassy in Moscow over the jet downing.

Several hundred young activists on Wednesday hurled stones and eggs at the mission and broke several windows.

The foreign ministry said it wanted to express discontent over the "unacceptable" protest as well as a series of incidents against Turkish companies in Russia.

"We are dismayed that our representatives in Russia and Turkish companies are victims of physical attacks carried out under the pretext of protests," the ministry said in a statement.

Russian foreign ministry urges nationals in Turkey to return home
Moscow (AFP) Nov 26, 2015 - Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday urged nationals currently in Turkey to return home after tensions with Ankara soared over the downing of a Russian warplane.

"In connection with the existing terrorist threats on Turkish territory, we once again recommend that Russian citizens refrain from visiting Turkey, and recommend that Russians who are there for personal purposes return home," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had warned on Tuesday against travel to the country and cancelled his own visit to Istanbul for bilateral talks, citing the threat of terror attacks.

But the foreign ministry on Thursday went further with its recommendation, urging Russians already in Turkey to repatriate.

There are some 10,000 Russian tourists in Turkey, a popular visa-free holiday destination for middle-class Russians, Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.

Turks in Russia were also facing closer oversight from the Russian authorities.

In the southern city of Krasnodar, 39 Turkish citizens in town for an agricultural fair were detained for alleged violation of visa rules and were set to be deported, a regional television channel said.

On its official website, the Turkish Embassy in Moscow warned its citizens to strictly adhere to Russia's visa rules and reminded them to "obtain the relevant visa" unless visiting for touristic reasons.

Russia on Thursday pledged broad retaliatory measures against Turkey's economy in revenge for the downing of one of its warplanes, as recriminations between Moscow and Ankara reached fever pitch.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan angrily rebuffed his Russian counterpart's demands for an apology and said Vladimir Putin had snubbed a phone call from him after Tuesday's incident.

The downing of the plane on the Syrian border has raised fears it could fuel a wider geopolitical conflict, and highlighted the difficulty of forging consensus on the fate of Syria as French President Francois Hollande held talks with Putin in Moscow.

While Russia ruled out any military retaliation against NATO member Turkey over the plane incident, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev gave his ministers two days to work out "a system of response measures" in the economic and humanitarian spheres.

He said the punitive steps for what he termed "this act of aggression" could include halting joint economic projects, restricting financial and trade transactions and changing customs duties.

Measures could also target transport and tourism after Putin told citizens not to travel to Turkey, a hugely popular tourist destination. The foreign ministry urged those already in Turkey to return home due to "existing terrorist threats".

Russia also tightened control over Turkish food imports over alleged safety standard violations.

Economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev did not rule out that the measures could hit two major projects with Turkey -- the planned Turk Stream gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant -- in a move that looked set to rattle cages in energy-poor Turkey.

Separately, Turkey on Thursday summoned the Russian ambassador to Ankara over an "unacceptable" violent demonstration over the plane shooting that took place outside the Turkish embassy in Moscow, the foreign ministry said.

- 'Shame on you' -

Ahead of the Hollande talks on the Syrian crisis, Putin and Erdogan traded barbs, with the Russian leader saying he was waiting for an apology and Erdogan ruling out any such move.

"We are under the impression that the Turkish leadership is deliberately pushing Russian-Turkish relations into deadlock. We regret that," said Putin.

He flayed Turkey for "treacherous stabs in the back" and accused its leadership of buttressing Islamic State jihadists financially and militarily.

Erdogan said Putin had refused to answer his call and insisted his country did not buy any oil from the Islamic State (IS) group.

"Shame on you. Those who claim we buy oil from Daesh are obliged to prove it. If not, you are a slanderer," he said in a speech, using an alternative name for IS.

"I think if there is a party that needs to apologise, it is not us," he told CNN separately.

In a later interview with France 24 television Erdogan however conceded that Turkey "would have acted differently" if it had known the jet was Russian.

Analysts said that while both countries can ill-afford a permanent rupture in ties, the clash of egos between the two leaders could further damage relations.

"Their desire not to lose face has the potential to weaken otherwise pragmatic calculations to contain the crisis," said Anthony Skinner, director of political risk at Verisk Maplecroft consultancy.

- Moscow targets rebels -

The shooting down of the aircraft is thought to be the first downing of a Russian plane by a NATO member since 1952 when US pilots brought down a Soviet plane near Vladivostok during the Korean War.

Tuesday's incident led to the deaths of one of the two pilots and of a soldier who took part in a failed rescue operation -- Moscow's first combat losses since the start of its Syria campaign.

On Thursday, Moscow said its forces had wiped out Syrian rebel groups operating in the area where its jet was brought down, unleashing a huge bombardment after rescuing the second pilot.

Moscow also said it had now stationed its most hi-tech missile defence system at its airbase in Syria.

Turkey insists its forces repeatedly warned the Russian aircraft, an assertion backed up by the United States, which said however that it was not yet clear which side of the border the jet was on when it was targeted.

Some observers believe Ankara downed the jet out of anger over Moscow's strikes against ethnic Turkmen in Syria, a minority it views as an ally in its struggle against President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Moscow, an Assad ally, claims the plane never entered Turkish airspace and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has branded the incident a "planned provocation."

The tensions have threatened to derail Hollande's efforts to cobble together a broad anti-IS coalition in response to the November 13 attacks in Paris that left 130 dead and were claimed by the jihadist group.


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