Turkish president says wishes plane downing had not happened

Russia has also forbidden tour companies from selling packages to Turkey, the foreign ministry published a travel warning on its website which recommended that Russians refrain from visiting Turkey and those visiting now return home “due to the terrorist threats that persist on the territory of Turkey”. Turkey, which has long sought Assad’s ouster, said that Turkey did not go looking to shoot down a Russian jet but acted after it strayed into Turkish air space.

Turkey’s foreign ministry on Saturday warned that non-urgent travel to Russia should be avoided in the latest escalation of a row between Moscow and Ankara following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey.

The incident has sparked a bitter war of words between the two strongmen leaders, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who are rival players in the war in Syria.

The shooting down of the jet is thought to be the first downing of a Russian warplane by a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member since 1952 and has been decried by Putin as a “stab in the back committed by accomplices of terrorists”.

Mr Erdogan said: “We are truly saddened by this incident”.

The downing of the jet has seen limited anti-Turkish demonstrations in Russian Federation and Turkish nationals in the country reportedly face increased checks from officials.

The decree was issued “to protect Russian citizens from crimes”, a Kremlin statement said.

“Until this situation is cleared, we advise our citizens to delay non-urgent and non-significant trips to the said country”, it added. Turkey had also renewed its warning on engagement rules, including a military response against violations of Turkish airspace.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev earlier in the week had ordered his cabinet to develop a list of goods to be sanctioned. Just as Russian Federation is important for Turkey, Turkey is important for Russian Federation.