Russia PM: Turkey violated international law giving ground for reciprocal military action

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says Turkey violated international law and gave ground for reciprocal military actions but the Russian leadership decided against it.

The relations between Moscow and Ankara worsened as an F-16 fighter jet of the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber. Ankara claimed the Su-24M bomber violated the Turkish air space in the area of the border with Syria. However, Russia’s Defence Ministry said the Su-24M plane stayed exclusively over the Syrian territory and "there was no violation of the Turkish air space."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that the attack on the bomber will have "serious consequences" for the Russian-Turkish relations. According to Putin, the Turkish Air Force’s attack on the Russian combat plane that took part in the operation against terrorists in Syria and posed no threat to Turkey is a "stab in the back of Russia."

On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that suspends employment of Turkish workers starting from January 1, 2016. Also, Russia suspends the visa-free travel agreement with Turkey, imposes bans or restrictions on imports of certain goods (the list will be determined by the government). Besides, travel agencies are advised against selling holiday packages to Turkey. The government is instructed to tighten control over activities of Turkish haulage companies and to ban chartered flights between Russia and Turkey with the goal of ensuring security within Russia.

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