Putin orders economic retaliation against Turkey
- AP, Ankara (Turkey) |
- Updated: Nov 29, 2015 00:49 IST
A war plane crashing in flames in a mountainous area in northern Syria after it was shot down by Turkish fighter jets near the Turkish-Syrian border, is seen in this still image taken from video November 24, 2015. (REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called for sanctions against Turkey, following the downing this week by Turkey of a Russian warplane.
The decree includes a ban on some goods and forbids extensions of labour contracts for Turks working in Russia. It doesn’t specify what goods are to be banned or give other details, but it also calls for ending chartered flights from Russia to Turkey and for Russian tourism companies to stop selling vacation packages that would include a stay in Turkey.
Putin has denounced the Turkish action as a “treacherous stab in the back,” and has insisted that the plane was downed over Syrian territory in violation of international law. He has also refused to take telephone calls from Erdogan.
Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday that the Kremlin had received Erdogan’s request for a meeting, but wouldn’t say whether such a meeting is possible.
Asked why Putin hasn’t picked up the phone to respond to Erdogan’s two phone calls, he said that “we have seen that the Turkish side hasn’t been ready to offer an elementary apology over the plane incident.”
After the incident, Russia deployed long-range S-400 air defense missile systems to a Russian air base in Syria just 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey to help protect Russian warplanes, and the Russian military warned it would shoot down any aerial target that would pose a potential threat.
Russia has since also restricted tourist travel to Turkey, left Turkish trucks stranded at the border, confiscated large quantities of Turkish food imports and started preparing a raft of broader economic sanctions.
Turkish protesters shout anti-Russia slogans as they hold a poster of Russian President Vladimir Putin that reads in Turkish and Russian " Assassin Putin! " during a protest in Istanbul. (AP)
On Saturday, Turkey issued a travel warning urging its nationals to delay non-urgent travel to Russia, saying Turkish travellers were facing “problems” in the country. It said Turks should delay travel plans until “the situation becomes clear.”