Forget differences, build common front against terror: Putin tells world
December 3, 2015, 12:12 pm

Putin addresses the Federal Assembly in Moscow on 3 December 2015 [PPIO]

Tensions between Russia and Turkey – potentially, Nato – contine to be tense in the wake of the downing of the SU-24 fighter jet in Syria.

“Every civilised country must contribute to the fight against terrorism, reaffirming their solidarity, not in word but in deed. This means that the terrorists must not be given refuge anywhere. There must be no double standards. No contacts with terrorist organisations. No attempts to use them for self-seeking goals. No criminal business with terrorists,” said Putin noting that the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is “a destructive and barbarous ideology”.

Putin stressed that Moscow would not forget the Nov. 24 incident of Turkey downing one of its jets and that Russia continued to regard it as a terrible betrayal.

Launching a scathing attack on the current leadership in Turkey, Putin said there can be no business as usual with Ankara.

“We know who are stuffing pockets in Turkey and letting terrorists prosper from the sale of oil they stole in Syria. The terrorists are using these receipts to recruit mercenaries, buy weapons and plan inhuman terrorist attacks against Russian citizens and against people in France, Lebanon, Mali and other states. We remember that the militants who operated in the North Caucasus in the 1990s and 2000s found refuge and received moral and material assistance in Turkey,” Putin said at the annual state of the nation address in Moscow.

Russia has already banned some Turkish food imports, including selected fruit and vegetables, as part of a wider retaliatory sanctions package.

Putin on Thursday also indicated that Moscow would unveil new sanctions against Turkey.

“We will not forget this aid to terrorists. Let those in Turkey know it who shot our pilots in the back, who hypocritically tries to justify themselves and their actions and cover up the crimes of terrorists,” he said.

The Russian President also said the current unrest in the Middle-East and in North Africa owes its origins to the instability caused by “regime change” efforts, in a dig at US foreign policy.

“We all know why that happened. We know who decided to oust the unwanted regimes and brutally impose their own rules. Where has this led them? They stirred up trouble, destroyed the countries’ statehood, set people against each other, and then “washed their hands”, as we say in Russia, thus opening the way to radical activists, extremists and terrorists,” said Putin.

The Russian Defense Ministry claims thousands of terrorist strongholds, arms depots, and other infrastructure have been destroyed in airstrikes conducted by Russia in Syria since September 30.

In the wake of the Paris attacks, French President Francois Hollande has been pushing for a grand coalition which includes Russia and the US. But this has been complicated by the Turkish downing of the Russian fighter jet and Washington’s insistence that Moscow drop its backing for Syrian President Bashar Al Assad to continue to play a role in any political solution to the crisis there.

For his part, Putin said Russia is ready and willing to work with France in any anti-terrorism effort.

TBP and Agencies