Thursday, Vladimir Putin called for economic policies that would strike back at Turkey. The downing of a Russian jet within Turkish airspace has driven a wedge between the two countries.
Putin has stated he does not believe Turkey misidentified the Russian fighter jet. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said, "maybe we would have warned it differently," had he known the plane was Russian. Russia has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the ongoing Syrian conflict. Turkey, a member of a U.S.-led coalition against Assad, is strongly critical of Assad, according to BBC News.
Now, Russia is threatening Turkey economically. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called for the freezing of joint projects and decreasing food imports from Turkey. Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev suggested limiting flights to and from Turkey, halting trade zones and limiting projects like the TurkStream gas pipeline and a Russian built $20 billion nuclear power plant in Turkey.
"We are strategic partners ... 'Joint projects may be halted, ties could be cut'? Are such approaches fitting for politicians? First the politicians and our militaries should sit down and talk about where errors were made and then focus on overcoming those errors on both sides. But instead, if we make emotional statements like this, that wouldn't be right," Erdogan said, according to the Huffington Post.
Despite the current strife, Russia has indicated it is still willing to develop new strategies to resolve the Syrian conflict, according to Reuters.
