‘Nothing new’ from Russia-Turkey talks on downed fighter jet

“The meeting between the two foreign ministers lasted for 40 minutes”, a Turkish foreign ministry official said.

Lavrov earlier said that the Turkish side had asked for the meeting to be held, stressing that he would not refuse to meet Cavusoglu.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry official was speaking on condition of anonymity because of government rules that bar officials from speaking to reporters without prior authorization.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Turkey’s prime minister struck a defiant tone Friday in his nation’s growing spat with Russia, declaring that his country can not be “brought to its knees” by Russian economic sanctions imposed in response to Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane.

Turkey says the Russian jet violated its airspace and that it was repeatedly warned, something Russia has denied.

“But if anyone thinks that after committing a treacherous war crime, the killing of our people, they will get away with (the ban on imports) of tomatoes or some restrictions on construction and other industries, they are deeply mistaken”.

Novak, meanwhile, also said the intergovernmental talks on TurkStream between Russian Federation and Turkey have been halted.

“We extend our condolences to the Russian pilot who was killed in the incident”. It is perfectly normal that we have differing opinions in a situation like this. “Stressed it is still very important to keep communication channels open”, the minister was quoted by Turkish media.

Countries that conduct aerial campaigns in Syria should coordinate their activities and not target moderate opposition including Turkmens, as they are the groups providing major resistance against the Islamic State and the Levant (ISIL), the prime minister stated. Russian Federation has been conducting airstrikes in Syria since September upon the request of the Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Both Russian pilots ejected from the Su-24 plane after being shot down by Turkish F-16s, an incident for which Russia has demanded a full apology. The Premier said the cooperation would continue over the future, saying his visit to Baku would contribute to development of bilateral bonds.

“Some countries in the Middle East and North Africa which used to be stable and relatively prosperous – Iraq, Libya, Syria – have turned into zones of chaos and anarchy that pose a threat to entire world”, he said.