Turkish president ‘saddened’ by downing of Russian jet

Turkey and Russian Federation have also traded blows over Islamic State, with each side accusing the other of being soft on terrorism. “This decision will enter into force on January 1, 2016”.

Turkey’s European Union Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir announced that the foreign ministers of both countries will come together in an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on December 3-4.

The Kremlin said today that Western powers were not ready to form a coalition with Russian Federation to fight ISIS terrorists in Syria, after talks between President Vladimir Putin and French leader Francois Hollande.

Turkey, which has long sought Assad’s ouster, said that it did not go looking to shoot down a Russian jet but acted after it strayed into Turkish airspace.

“It is also unlikely that Russia will punish Turkey by cutting its gas”, he said, noting this would lead to questions about the reliability of Russian supply contracts.

Full blown confrontation is on between Russia and Turkey as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia on Friday not to “play with fire” after reports emerged that Turkish businessmen had been detained in Russia.

Turkey’s downing of a Russian jet near the Syrian border earlier this week risks harming the Syrian peace process, the United Nation’s top Syria diplomat said on Friday, speaking in Stockholm.

“A Russian warplane has been shot down and a pilot killed – this is an unfortunate incident and we express sympathy”, the ministry said in a brief statement on its website. In May, the Cumhuriyet paper published what it said were images of Turkish trucks carrying ammunition to Syrian militants.

Putin also said on November 26 that Moscow was waiting for an apology and an offer of compensation from Turkey, and that he expected Ankara to “punish the criminals for this crime”.

He renewed a call for a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a climate conference in Paris next week, saying it would be an opportunity to overcome tensions. A Syrian Kurdish leader said on Friday Ankara had shot down the Russian bomber because the groups it backed were losing territory.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has directed government ministers to draw up economic measures against Turkey.

Some Russian tour operators have said they will be curtailing travel to Turkey, a top destination for Russian vacationers.