Russia is threatening retaliation against Turkey, but not by shooting down one of its planes. Russia is taking economic revenge on Turkey as it announced on Thursday it was still waiting for Turkey to give it a reasonable explanation for shooting down one of its warplanes.
However, the economic threats against Turkey were dismissed as unfitting and emotional, by the Turkish government.
In a war of words that seems to escalate with each passing day, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan responded to accusations by Russia that Turkey had been purchasing gas and oil from the radical militant Islamic State, by accusing Bashar al-Assad the President of Syria and his supporters, which includes Moscow, of being the source of the radical group’s military and financial power.
The Turkish air force’s shooting down of a Russian jet two days ago was a very serious clash between Russia and a member of NATO and has further complicated the efforts internationally to battle ISIS.
Leaders around the globe have urged each side to avoid further escalation. Dmitry Medvedev the Prime Minister of Russia has ordered the government to prepare measures that include freezing some of the joint projects between his country and Turkey and restricting the food imports that come from Turkey.
Alexei Ulyukayev the Economy Minister in Russia said his government could limit the flights airlines take to and from Turkey, stop preparations for a free trade zone and restrict projects of high-profile including a gas pipeline and a nuclear plant that cost $20 billion that Russia is currently building in Turkey.
The defense ministry for Russia has said that it suspended all its cooperation with the military of Turkey, including the hotline it had set up that shared information on the airstrikes by Russia in Syria, said TASS the news agency.
Erdogan said the first step should be a meeting between the head of state and militaries to talk about the errors made and focus on overcoming the errors for both sides. However, if we make just emotional statements such as this one, it would not be right.
A spokesperson for the Kremlin said that Russia was awaiting an answer from the government in Ankara on why a fighter was downed. Moscow is insisting the jet never left the air space of Syria, but Ankara says that it crossed the border despite a number of warnings.
