Putin says Turkey 'will regret' shooting down Russian bomber
President Vladimir Putin used his annual state of the nation speech on Thursday to warn Turkey the Kremlin planned to adopt further sanctions against it to punish Ankara.
By REUTERSUpdated: DECEMBER 3, 2015 11:59Russian President Vladimir Putin leaves after delivering a speech for the opening day of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (photo credit: REUTERS)
MOSCOW - Turkey will regret "more than once" about its shooting down of a Russian bomber jet near the Syrian-Turkish border, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, adding Moscow would not ignore Ankara's "aiding of terrorists."President Vladimir Putin used his annual state of the nation speech on Thursday to warn Turkey the Kremlin planned to adopt further sanctions against it to punish Ankara for shooting down a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border last week.Russia has already banned some Turkish food imports in retaliation as part of a sanctions package, and has accused Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his family of benefiting from the smuggling of oil from Islamic State controlled territory in Syria and Iraq, allegations Turkey denies.But on Thursday, without specifying how, Putin made clear Moscow planned to go much further, using strong rhetoric which underscored the continued depth of his anger towards Ankara over the November 24 incident."We are not planning to engage in military saber-rattling," Putin told an audience in the Kremlin."But if anyone thinks that having committed this awful war crime, the murder of our people, that they are going to get away with some measures concerning their tomatoes or some limits on construction and other sectors, they are sorely mistaken."The shooting down of the jet by the Turkish air force on Tuesday was one of the most serious clashes between a NATO member and Russia, and further complicated international efforts to battle Islamic State militants.World leaders have urged both sides to avoid escalation.