Senior Russian politicians warned Turkey to expect economic retaliation after it shot down a Russian jet fighter over its border with Syria, amid international calls for calm and dialogue between the two states.
Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, accused Turkey of stabbing his country in the back by shooting down an Su-24 warplane which Ankara claims repeatedly violated Turkish airspace, but which the Kremlin insists only flew over Syrian territory.
Mr Putin also accused Turkey of profiting from covert cross-border trade that helps fund Islamic State (also known as Isil or Isis).
“We’ve long noted that lots of oil and oil products seized on this territory go to Turkish territory. This is a great financial boost for the armed gangs,” Mr Putin said.
“If Isis has this kind of money – and we’re talking about tens, hundreds of millions, maybe billions of dollars from oil trading – plus protection from the armed forces of an entire state, then it’s understandable how it acts so boldly and brazenly.”
Major leaders urged Turkey and Russia to remain calm and start talks after the incident, which Ankara said was a justified act in defence of its territory.
A spokesman for United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said he “urges all relevant parties to take urgent measures with a view to de-escalate the tensions.”
Credible review
“He hopes that a credible and thorough review will clarify the events and help prevent future recurrences . . . (and) urges all those who are engaged in military activities in Syria, especially air campaigns, to maximise operational measures to avoid unintended consequences.”
French president François Hollande said: “We must find a solution to this Syrian crisis, because we can see what the risks are otherwise . . . we must prevent an escalation. That would be extremely damaging.”
Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, cancelled a planned visit to Turkey today, and both countries summoned each other's ambassadors for talks.
Mr Lavrov also advised his compatriots not to visit Turkey, prompting one of the country’s biggest tour firms to halt bookings to the country.
“The critical mass of terrorist incidents on Turkish soil . . . is no less of a threat than in Egypt.
“For this reason of course we do not recommend that our citizens travel to Turkey for tourism or any other reason,” Mr Lavrov said.
All 224 people on a Russian airliner were killed on October 31st when it was brought down over Egypt in a suspected Islamic State bomb plot.
“Ankara clearly didn’t consider the consequences of its hostile actions on the interests of Turkey and its economy,” Alexey Pushkov, the head of the Russian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said on Twitter.
Economic losses
“In the end, financial-economic losses for Turkey will be 10 times larger than the income of those groups that made a profitable oil business for themselves with Isil.”
The loss of Russian tourists would be a blow to Turkey – 4.4 million of them visited the country last year; energy is also a key area of co-operation, with Turkey heavily reliant on gas and oil from Russia.
The stock markets and currencies of Russia and Turkey lost value yesterday, amid uncertainty over how the crisis would play out between two powerful countries that have long vied for influence from the Black Sea to Central Asia.
Protesters gathered outside the Turkish embassy in Moscow, holding placards echoing Mr Putin's claims that Ankara is an accomplice of Islamic State.
They also held pictures posted online of what appeared to be a gravely injured crewman from the Russian jet, whom Moscow officials said had been shot dead by Turkmen militia in northern Syria as he parachuted to the ground.
