Erdogan: ‘Saddened’ by downing of Russian jet

Many Russians critical of the Kremlin have reacted by saying that Moscow is partially to blame for the death of two officers – the jet’s pilot and a soldier participating in the rescue mission – because of its refusal to meet Ankara’s concerns over repeated airspace violations and its bombing of ethnic Turkmen in northern Syria.

It was the first time in half a century that a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member shot down a Russian plane and drew a harsh response from Moscow.

It was “precisely” at that moment Turkey shot down the Russian jet, Putin said. “I hope that something like this doesn’t occur again”.

Speaking after the talks with the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem on Friday, Lavrov said that “things are not going to go ahead” in the Syria peace talks unless other world powers list the group as terrorist.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday Moscow would suspend its visa-free regime with Turkey as of January 1, which could affect Turkey’s tourism industry.

Addressing supporters in the western city of Balikesir, Erdogan said neither country should allow the incident to escalate and take a destructive form that would lead to “saddening consequences”.

The powerful Turkish leader didn’t lash out at Russian Federation but appeared intent on taking the high road by claiming that “Turkey has never been in favor of triggering tensions and clashes, and we never will be”.

The summit in Antalya marked their deepening rift over Syria, when Putin showed fellow G-20 leaders aerial pictures of what he said were convoys of oil trucks carrying crude from fields controlled by the Islamic State group into Turkey.

But they are on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, with Ankara backing rebels fighting to topple Assad while Moscow is one of his last remaining allies.

‘They (our planes) have identification signs and these are well visible, ‘ Mr Putin said.

Peskov, according to the TASS news agency, also spoke of how Erdogan’s son had a “certain interest” in the oil industry.

Russian Federation has vowed to carry out broad retaliatory measures against Turkey’s economy to avenge the downing of its warplane by Turkey earlier this week. It said Turks should delay travel plans until “the situation becomes clear”.

On Saturday Turkey issued a travel warning urging its nationals to delay non-urgent and unnecessary travel to Russian Federation, saying Turkish travelers were facing “problems” in the country.