Turkish President warns Russia 'not to play with fire' over downed jet, then insists he does't want to harm relations
Vladimir Putin had accused Turkey of "stabbing Russia in the back" and becoming the "accomplices of terrorists"
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Your support makes all the difference.The President of Turkey has warned Russia “not to play with fire” and accused Vladimir Putin of slander, while insisting he does not want to worsen relations.
A war of words between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterpart intensified today as the dispute continued over Turkey’s shooting down of a Russian jet on Tuesday.
In a speech broadcast live on Turkish television, Mr Erdogan said he may attempt to arrange a meeting with Mr Putin at next week’s global climate summit in France.
“I would like to meet him face to face in Paris,” the Turkish President said.
“I would like to bring the issue to a reasonable point. We are disturbed that the issue has been escalated.”
But he used the same speech to launch a counter-attack to comments Mr Putin made yesterday during a press conference with Francois Hollande, where he denounced the Turkish action as a “treacherous stab in the back”.
The Russian President has insisted the plane was downed over Syrian territory in violation of international law and accused Turkey of buying Isis oil and helping terrorists.
“For us, Turkey was not just a neighbour, but a friendly state, almost an ally,” he said. “It's very sad to see all of it being destroyed so thoughtlessly and brutally.”
Mr Erdogan previously said Turkey had not specifically targeted Russia when it shot down the plane in “an automatic response” in line with its rules of engagement, and suggested the military may have acted differently had it known where the jet was from.
But he struck a less conciliatory note today, calling Mr Putin’s comments “unacceptable” and warning Russia “not to play with fire”.
The Turkish President dismissed allegations of Isis oil sales as “slander” and hit back by claiming there was evidence Russian companies and the terror group are selling oil to Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime – an ally of Mr Putin but enemy of Turkey.
The downing of the plane dented hopes of increased co-operation between Russia and the US-led coalition bombing Isis in Iraq and Syria but Russia says it remains prepared to co-operate with all members, even Turkey.
One of the two Russian pilots died when anti-Assad rebels shot him as he parachuted to the ground, while another Russian serviceman killed when they fired on a rescue helicopter.
Both countries have unleashed a rash of conflicting claims over the incident, with Turkey saying the jet was in its territory and had been warned multiple times to turn away as it approached the edge of Syrian airspace, and Russia claiming the opposite.
Ankara released a recording it said proved the Russian pilots were warned but the Kremlin dismissed it as fake.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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