Russian jet downing: Will NATO serve ISIS interests, asks Putin
November 24, 2015, 1:56 pm

Putin: “Today’s incident will have serious consequences for Russia-Turkish ties” [PPIO]

“Today’s loss is linked with a stab in our back delivered by terrorism accomplices. I can’t characterize otherwise what has happened today,” Putin said in Jordan.

“The Russian bomber was shot down over Syria by an air-to-air surface fired from a Turkish F-16 plane when the bomber was at an altitude of 6,000 meters at a distance of 1 km from the Turkish bomber.” Putin said at a meeting with King Abdallah II of Jordan.

“Our pilots and jet posed no threat to the Turkish Republic. This is obvious. They were conducting an operation against ISIL,” a visibly agitated Putin stressed.

Russia has for a long time been aware of oil going from Syrian regions under the control of terrorists to Turkey, Putin said.

Turkey said it shot the jet down on Tuesday after repeated warnings over air space violations. Russia said its warplane never left Syrian airspace.

The Russian leader vowed Moscow will not tolerate crimes like these warning that “today’s incident will have serious consequences for Russia-Turkish ties”.

The Turkish military attache in Moscow has been summoned by the Russian Defense Ministry over the incident.

“I understand each country has its own regional interests, and we have always respected that. But we shall never tolerate crimes like today’s incident,” the President said.

Putin said Russia “always treated Turkey as “friendly nation” while asking “in whose interest is today’s incident?”

He expressed hope “the international community will find the forces to unite in the face of this common evil (terrorism).”

“Do we want NATO to serve ISIS interests?” Putin asked.

Turkey will brief NATO ambassadors on Tuesday about the events surrounding its shooting down of the Russian jet, a spokeswoman for the military alliance said.

“There will be a North Atlantic Council meeting this afternoon at 5 (11:00 a.m. ET),” said spokeswoman Irina Novakova. “The aim is for Turkey to inform allies about the events of this morning.”

European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday warned of a ‘dangerous moment’ after Turkey’s actions. Tusk called on all to remain “cool headed and calm”, said an AFP report.

Meanwhile, global oil prices rose Tuesday with Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.1 per cent to $45.33 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.

TBP