Over half of Turks believe downing Russian jet was ‘right’

ISTANBUL

A recent nation-wide survey conducted by Kadir Has University has revealed that over half of Turkey’s population believe Ankara was right in downing a Russian jet on Nov. 24, 2015, near the Syrian border.

Some 58.2 percent of respondents regard the act as a positive thing, while 41.8 percent said it was the wrong move, according to the “Turkish Foreign Policy Public Opinion Research” that was carried out by the university’s Turkey Research Center.

Some 57.6 percent of those who supported the move said that “it showed that Turkey was a big country,” while those who said “we should protect our borders” followed the former argument.

The majority of those who disapproved of the action said Turkey had behaved “disproportionately.” Some 27.3 percent said Turkey was not right in the action, while another 23.2 percent said Russia was a big country.

Two Turkish F-16’s shot down a Russian-made SU-24 jet on Nov. 24, 2015, near the Syrian border after it allegedly violated Turkish airspace.

Turkey’s move precipitated a severe deterioration in relations with Russia as Moscow imposed several economic sanctions on its erstwhile economic partner in the areas of tourism and agriculture.