Putin promises more than just tomato sanctions against Turkey

Ties between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey and Russia have been strained since Ankara shot down the jet on its border with Syria on November 24, with Russian President Vladimir Putin already accusing Ankara of downing the jet to protect the oil supply lines to Turkish territory.

Addressing Russian lawmakers in his annual state of the nation on Thursday, Putin said Russia still can not comprehend why the downing took place, adding that the death of a Russian pilot in the incident would have long-term consequences for those responsible.

“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”.

Putin further evoked the term “Allah”, the Islamic and Arabic word for God, saying the Turkish political elite lacked wisdom and judgement. “And I guess Allah chose to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by stripping it of its sanity”. “We remember that the militants who operated in the North Caucasus in the 1990s and 2000s found refuge and received moral and material assistance in Turkey”, Putin said at the annual state of the nation address in Moscow.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia’s role in Syria was welcome, as long as Moscow was focused only on IS.

Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday (Nov 24) after repeated warnings over air space violations, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left Syrian air space. “The cynicism of Turkish leadership is limitless”.

“Turkish leaders, including Mr. Erdogan, won’t step down and they won’t acknowledge anything even if their faces are smeared with the stolen oil”, he added. “And of course we know why this happened”.

Davutoglu refuse of Russia’s claims that Turkey was buying oil from Islamic State as “Soviet-style propaganda”. State Department spokesman Mark Toner denied the Russian claim.

The bulk of Putin’s speech was dedicated to economic proposals that touched on a wide range of issues from corruption to jury reform and economic growth.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov during a briefing in Moscow on Wednesday provided satellite images that show Daesh (ISIL) illegal oil smuggling through the Turkish-Syrian border. Moscow says the aircraft was over Syria, where Russian Federation is carrying out an air campaign to support the forces of President Bashar al-Assad in a four-year-old civil war. Russia – Turkey’s main energy supplier – is also imposing sanctions against Turkey that will hurt its food exports and has also told Russian tourists not to visit the country.

During the brifing, the ministry has space surveillance photographs demonstrating that Daesh now transports up to 200,000 barrels of oil for processing to third-party countries including Turkey.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has accused Turkey of colluding with ISIS.

During his address, however, Putin appeared to downplay the involvement of the military in Russia’s response.