Turkey shot jet to protect oil: Putin

Speaking at the climate change conference in Paris, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of shooting down its warplane to protect a route used by the Islamic State to supply oil to the country. Washington and its allies fear the Turkey-Russia stand-off could undercut efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria, where Moscow backs long-time ally President Bashar al-Assad and Ankara the rebels seeking to oust him.

Obama huddled privately with Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the summit to focus on the common goal of fighting terrorism and to set aside tensions stemming from the plane incident. Both the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command confirmed that the Russian jet never crossed into Turkish airspace.

Stating that Russian citizens overseas did not face discrimination because of the annexation of Crimea, civil war in Ukraine and other incidents, Gudkov said: “So is Nazism reborn in Ukraine or Russia?”.

“I want to make sure that we focus on that threat”, he said.

“I don’t expect that you’re going to see a 180-degree turn on their strategy over the next several weeks”, Obama said.

“We have received additional information confirming that that oil from the deposits controlled by ISIS militants enters Turkish territory on industrial scale”.

He said the idea of an worldwide coalition to fight ISIS – a plan pushed by Moscow and France after a Russian airliner was brought down by a bomb and Paris was attacked by gunmen affiliated to the jihadist group – was seriously threatened by the Turkish action. “So long as they are aligned with the regime, a lot of Russian resources are still going to be targeted at opposition groups that, ultimately, are going to end up being part of an inclusive government that we support”.

“I need to ensure that people focus on such a risk”, he said.

Russian Federation has imposed sanctions on Turkey within the downing of the airplane, including limitations on imports of Turkish food and an ending to visa-free traveling. The list included fruit and vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, grapes and apples, as well as chicken products.

Moscow may also suspend work on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project, two sources in Russian gas giant Gazprom told Reuters.

“We are always willing to resort to the diplomatic language (…) we want to avoid the tensions”, he said. Waxing optimistic about a new diplomatic effort in Vienna aimed at a cease-fire in Syria’s civil war, Erdogan said he hoped it would result in “sigh of relief for the entire region”. “Military channels existed and were meant to not allow such tragedies”.

Meanwhile, the Russian education ministry said it would repatriate “as soon as possible” Turkish students who are studying in Russia.