Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called for sanctions against Turkey, following the downing this week by Turkey of a Russian warplane.
The decree published on the Kremlin's website Saturday came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had voiced regret over the incident, saying his country was "truly saddened" by the event and wished it hadn't occurred.
The decree includes a ban on some
goods and forbids extensions of labor
contracts for Turks working in Russia. It doesn't specify what goods are
to be banned or give other details, but it also calls for ending
chartered flights from Russia to Turkey and for Russian tourism
companies to stop selling vacation packages that would include a stay in
Turkey.
Erdogan's expression of regret Saturday was the first since Tuesday's
incident in which Turkish F-16 jets shot down the Russian jet on grounds
that it had violated Turkey's airspace despite repeated warnings to
change course. It was the first time in half a century that a NATO
member shot down a Russian plane and drew a harsh response from Moscow.
"We are truly saddened by this incident," Erdogan said. "We wish it
hadn't happened as such, but unfortunately such a thing has happened. I
hope that something like this doesn't occur again."
Addressing supporters in the western city of Balikesir, Erdogan said
neither country should allow the incident to escalate and take a
destructive form that would lead to "saddening consequences."
He renewed a call for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on the
sidelines of a climate conference in Paris next week, saying it would be
an opportunity to overcome tensions.
Erdogan's friendly overture however, came after he again vigorously
defended Turkey's action and criticized Russia for its operations in
Syria.
"If we allow our sovereign rights to be violated ... then the territory would no longer be our territory," Erdogan said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said he hoped a meeting between Erdogan and Putin would take place in Paris.
"In such situations it is important to keep the channels of communication open," he said.
Putin has denounced the Turkish action as a "treacherous stab in the
back," and has insisted that the plane was downed over Syrian territory
in violation of international law. He has also refused to take telephone
calls from Erdogan. Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said
Friday that the Kremlin had received Erdogan's request for a meeting,
but wouldn't say whether such a meeting is possible.
Asked why Putin hasn't picked up the phone to respond to Erdogan's two
phone calls, he said that "we have seen that the Turkish side hasn't
been ready to offer an elementary apology over the plane incident."
After the incident, Russia deployed long-range S-400 air defense missile
systems to a Russian air base in Syria just 50 kilometers (30 miles)
south of the border with Turkey to help protect Russian warplanes, and
the Russian military warned it would shoot down any aerial target that
would pose a potential threat to its planes.
Russia has since also restricted tourist travel to Turkey, left Turkish
trucks stranded at the border, confiscated large quantities of Turkish
food imports and started preparing a raft of broader economic sanctions.
On Saturday Turkey issued a travel warning urging its nationals to delay
non-urgent and unnecessary travel to Russia, saying Turkish travelers
were facing "problems" in the country. It said Turks should delay travel
plans until "the situation becomes clear."
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