Russia ‘stabbed in back’ by Turkey, says Putin over downed Russian jet

ISTANBUL

REUTERS photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet as a “stab in the back,” adding that the SU-24 shot down on the morning of Nov. 24 did not pose a threat to Turkish national security.

Two Turkish F-16s downed a Russian fighter jet due to an “airspace violation,” according to the Turkish army, but Putin claimed that the Russian jet was flying a kilometer from the Turkish border.

Speaking during a televised meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin also suggested that Turkey was an “accomplice of terrorists,” arguing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) had the “protection of a nation’s military.” 

The Russian president warned that there would be “serious consequences” for the downing of the jet, which he described as a “crime.” 

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry has summoned Turkey’s defense attaché in Moscow over the incident.