Russia Claims Turkish President And Family Are Involved In ISIS Oil Trade

President Obama and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addressed the fallout from Turkey's downing of a Russian jet last week after bilateral talks at the Paris COP21 climate conference Tuesday. Both leaders emphasized the common enemy all nations engaging in air strikes in Syria share: ISIS.

President Obama said:

I want to be very clear: Turkey is a NATO Ally. Along with our allies, the United States supports Turkey's right to defend itself and its airspace and its territory. And we're very much committed to Turkey's security and its sovereignty. We discussed how Turkey and Russia can work together to deescalate tensions and find a diplomatic path to resolve this issue. And as I mentioned to President Erdogan, we all have a common enemy, and that is ISIL. And I want to make sure that we focus on that threat, and I want to make sure that we remain focused on the need to bring about some sort of political resolution in Syria.

President Erdogan said:

We've concentrated our efforts on discussing the recent tensions between Russia and Turkey. Of course, we are always willing to resort to the diplomatic language, because the diplomatic language will be sufficient in order to resolve the problems in the region, because we don't want to invest in tensions — we want to avoid tensions... If a tension arises in the region, all of the parties involved get damaged in the end. We want peace to prevail at all costs, and we want the peace, which will prevail, to contribute to the peace which will be established in the region at a larger extent....

We [also] focused on the Turkmen — the Turkish descendants in Syria. We know that where the Turkmen are present, there's no Daesh presence or ISIS presence. As I've said before, they are Turkish descendants; they are the relatives of the Republic of Turkey. And that area is continuously bombed. In the last few weeks, more than 500 civilians were killed, so we would like to see the resolution of that problem as soon as possible as well.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday challenged Russia to prove Vladimir Putin's claim that Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane was to protect oil supply routes with ISIS.

Speaking to the quasi-state-run Andalou news agency, Erdogan said he would resign if such claims were proved: "As soon as such a claim is proved, the nobility of our nation requires [me] to do this... I will not remain in this post. But I am asking Mr. Putin, would you remain?"

"It is obvious where we legally buy oil and natural gas from. Everyone must know that we are not that disreputable to make such a deal with terrorist organizations," he added.

Turkey won't apologize for protecting its airspace

Turkey's prime minister said Monday that his country will not apologize to Russia for downing one of it's warplane's last week, the AP reported.

Though Russia insists that it's plane never entered Turkish airspace, Turkish officials claim that the jet crossed into Turkey and after several warnings was shot down.

"No Turkish prime minister or president will apologize ... because of doing our duty," Ahmet Davutoglu said to reporters after meeting with NATO's chief in Brussels. He added that Turkey is open to discussing the situation with Russia and coming up with a plan to avoid similar incidents in the future, according to AP.

According to Russia's foreign affairs adviser, Vladimir Putin will not accept any calls from Turkey's president until the country apologizes to Russia, AP reported.

Turkey says it has the body of a Russian pilot killed after his plane was shot down on the Syrian border, the BBC reported.

The body of Lt Col Oleg Peshkov will be given back to Russia, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara on Sunday that the remains had been received on Saturday night, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.

"The pilot, who lost his life during [Tuesday's] airspace violation, was delivered to us last night," he said.

"The body will be delivered to Russia," he added. At Russia's request, the pilot was given Orthodox funeral rites, Anadolu reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced a series of sanctions against Turkey following the shooting down of a Russian jet near the Turkish border.

In his presidential decree, Putin stated that the sanctions were intended to "ensure the national security of the Russian Federation and the protection of Russian citizens from criminal and other legal activities" in Turkey.

The sanctions will affect imports from Turkey, Turkish companies stationed in Russia, and Turkish nationals employed by Russian companies, according to the BBC.

Charter flights between the two countries will also be halted as a result of the new sanctions.

The new decree will also have an impact on Turkey's tourism sector, as approximately 3 million Russians visited the country last year. Putin has also discouraged Russian tourism agencies from selling to Turkish visitors, according to the decree.

The sanctions will go into effect Jan. 1, 2016.

Russia suspends visa-free travel with Turkey

This from the AP:

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow has decided to suspend visa-free travel with Turkey. Lavrov said Friday Turkey has been reluctant to share information with Moscow about it citizens accused of involvement in terrorist activities.

The move comes amid a bitter spat between Moscow and Ankara over a Russian warplane downed by Turkey on Tuesday.

Lavrov said the visa-free travel will be suspended starting from Jan. 1.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday warned Moscow not to "play with fire" with its response to the downing of a warplane on the Syrian border this week, Reuters reported.

During a speech to his supporters in Bayburt, Erdogan said: "We very sincerely recommend to Russia not to play with fire... We really attach a lot of importance to our relations with Russia... We don't want these relations to suffer harm in any way."

Erdogan had previously branded Russia's threats of economic retaliation in response to the incident as "emotional" and "unfitting."

Russia seeks economic penalties against Turkey

From Reuters:

Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Moscow could put limits on flights to and from Turkey, halt preparations for a joint free trade zone, and restrict high-profile projects including the TurkStream gas pipeline and a $20 billion nuclear power plant Russia is building in Turkey.

On Wednesday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev ordered the government to put plans into place to freeze some joint investment projects and restrict food imports following Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane Tuesday.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu sought to ease tensions with Russia Friday, after Turkish fighter jets downed a Russian warplane near the Syrian border earlier this week.

Writing in The TImes of London, Davutoglu said that fighting ISIS was the Turkish government's main priority, and that Russia must work to fight the same common enemy.

He insisted his government "will work with Russia and our allies to calm tensions":

The downing of an unidentified jet in Turkish airspace was not — and is not — an act against a specific country. Turkey took action, based on standing rules of engagement, to protect the integrity of its sovereign territory. The necessary discussions are now taking place. While the measures to defend our territory will remain in place, Turkey will work with Russia and our allies to calm tensions.

Russian Defense Ministry says it has suspended all cooperation with Turkey.

Russia has suspended all cooperation with the Turkish military, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

This includes a hotline set up to share information about Russian airstrikes in Syria, TASS, a Russian government news agency reported.

Later Thursday Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov announced that the militaries of Russia and Syria had delivered airstrikes at the area where one of the pilot's was rescued.

Konashenkov claimed a group of militants and other armed units were destroyed in the strikes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the Turkish government of going in "radical directions" and pursuing policies that will lead to the "Islamization" of the country, Haaretz reported.

Putin told reporters in Moscow Thursday:

We see, and we are not alone I assure you, it is seen all over the world, that current Turkish leadership for a considerable number of years has been pursuing an internal policy of Islamization in the country.

We are talking about the support for more radical directions which creates a very hostile environment and atmosphere that is not visible at when it is first seen, that is first, secondly, after what happened yesterday, we cannot exclude any other incidents. And if that happens we will somehow have to react to it.

And our citizens in Turkey may be under significant risk and the Foreign Ministry if obliged to inform about it.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan has responded to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's claim that Turkey had yet to apologize for downing a Russian jet near the Syrian border earlier this week, saying it's Russia who should apologize to Turkey for violating their airspace.

In an interview with CNN, Erdogan said:

"I think if there is a party that needs to apologize, it is not us. Those who violated our airspace are the ones who need to apologize. Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties, which consisted of responding to ... violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence."

From the Associated Press:

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Turkey still has not apologized for the downing of a Russian warplane or given assurances that "the culprits of this crime" will be punished.

Previously warm relations between the two countries have soured after Turkey on Tuesday shot down a Russian Su-24 on a bombing mission near the Syria border.

Speaking at the Kremlin on Thursday, Putin complained that he has not received an apology from Turkey nor an offer "to make up for the damages." Russia previously insisted that its plane never violated the Turkish airspace as Turkey claimed.

He said he regretted the fact that relations between Turkey and Russia have been driven into a stalemate.

A Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system was deployed at a one of the country's Syrian airbases Thursday, the RIA Nostovi news agency reported.

The system has been deployed to the Hmeymim airbase, where the Russian air force is stationed.

The deployment of the system had been announced Wednesday, following Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday.

Turkey releases reported audio recording of warning to Russian jet

In response to the surviving Russian pilot's assertions that he never heard the Turkish military issue any warning before shooting down his plane, Turkey has released what it says is an audio recording of the transmission, Reuters reported.

The voice on the recording is heard saying, "Change your heading."

Russian pilot claims he never heard warning

The Russian pilot who survived when his warplane was shot down by Turkish jets said that no warnings were issued before he was fired upon, according to the AP.

"There were no warnings, either by radio or visually. There was no contact whatsoever," he said, according to TASS, Reuters reported.

Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin was on Russian television Wednesday, just one day after he bailed out of his crashing jet and was rescued on the ground.

Speaking from the Russian Hemeimeem air base in Syria, Murakhtin also reiterated earlier claims made by Russia that the plane remained in Syrian territory and did not violate Turkish airspace.

"I could see perfectly on the map and on the ground where the border was and where we were. There was no danger of entering Turkey," he said, according to Interfax.

Turkish and Russian foreign ministers to meet, Turkey says

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the country's FM Mevlut Cavusoglu had agreed to meet for talks with his Russian counterpart over the downed Russian warplane "in the coming days," AP reported.

In a written statement, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said the ministers had agreed to a meeting, but Lavrov said there were no concrete plans during a televised interview.

He instead suggested that he and Cavusoglu could meet on the sidelines of an international event.

Bilgic also said that the two ministers had a phone conversation, during which Cavusoglu briefed Lavrov on Turkey's action, and that the two agreed to share details on the jet's downing through "diplomatic and military channels."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia would not "wage war" with Turkey, but accused the downing of a Russian warplane at the Syrian border of being a "planned provocation," according to Russia's Sputnik News.

We have serious doubts it was an accident, and the prepared footage of the jet's downing suggests the opposite. It completely looks like planned provocation."

Speaking to journalists Wednesday, he denied claims that Moscow was avoiding contact with Ankara. "my phone conversation with the Turkish FM is a proof," Lavrov said.

He added that his Turkish counterpart expressed his condolences during that conversation, but attempted to excuse the incident.

Lavrov also accused Turkey of failing to use a hotline set up between the two country's militaries to discuss their forces' operations in Syria.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the Bundestag — the country's lower house of parliament — Wednesday that Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane near the Syrian border "complicates" the process of finding a political solution to the conflict in the country, ITV News reported.

"The situation has been aggravated by the shooting down of a Russian plane by Turkey," she said, according to ITV News.

"We need to do everything to avoid an escalation. Of course every country has a right to defend its territory, but on the other hand we know how tense the situation is in Syria and in the surrounding area.

"I spoke yesterday with the Turkish prime minister and asked him to do everything to de-escalate the situation."

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Wednesday said the second pilot who ejected from the warplane downed near the Syrian border Tuesday has been found by Russian and Syrian government forces and returned safely to base, TASS Agency reported.

"The operation ended successfully" Shoigu said. "The pilot has been taken to our base. Safe and sound. I'd like to thank all our men who were working all night long taking great risks."

The rescue operation took 12 hours, he said.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey was acting in the interests of its own security and defending the "rights of our brothers" in Syria in downing a Russian warplane Tuesday but did not want an escalation of the incident, Reuters reported:

"We have no intention of escalating this incident. We are only defending our own security and the rights of our brothers.

"We will continue our humanitarian efforts on both sides of the (Syrian) border. We are determined to take all necessary measures to prevent a new wave of immigration."