Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled out any immediate improvement of relations between Ankara and Moscow as he reiterated his accusation that shooting down a Russian fighter jet by Turkey after airspace violation was “hostile" behavior.
"It is hard for us to reach agreement with the current Turkish leadership, if at all possible," Putin said on Thursday during an annual press conference attended by more than 1,400 journalists in Moscow.
The Russian president said that he did not understand why Turkey downed the Russian jet.
On November 24, Turkish F-16 fighter jets shot down a Russian SU-24 bomber after it violated Turkish airspace as well as avoiding repeated warning from Turkish pilots near Syrian border.
Following the incident, relations between the two regional and economic partners have sunk to a historic low as Moscow imposed sanctions on some Turkish food products, canceled visa-free travel for Turkish citizens, and dragged military relations to a nadir.
Russia refuted Turkish allegations of airspace violation and claimed that its bomber was in Syrian airspace while dowsing, although the Turkish military published the flight track of the Russian jet which clearly showed that the SU-24 was miles inside Turkish territory.
Putin accused Turkey of supporting America and the EU by downing the Russian jet to show that it is a “reliable partner."
He also blamed Turkey, the NATO member country, for a meeting with NATO leadership immediately after the incident.
Putin said that Turkish leadership should, “Grab the phone and explain [to Moscow] what happened. Instead they called Brussels (i.e., Nato)."
The Russian leader repeated his claims that Turkey, a strong member of the anti-Daesh international coalition, downed the plane to save Daesh in Syria.
While speaking about Russia's invasion into Syria and bombing Turkmens in the Bayır-Bucak area of northern Latakia, Putin said, “If they told us that there were Turkmens, then we wouldn't have targeted them."
He expressed Moscow's support for a US initiative to prepare a UN Security Council resolution on the five-year-long crisis in Syria, but warned that Russia wouldn't accept any “outside force decision" over who should rule the country.
“There is no way to resolve the Syrian crisis other than a political solution," Putin said, but added that his military would continue its operation inside Syria, which he said was part of an “anti-terror" offensive.
Russian leader said he is more concerned about Daesh's oil trade rather than its barbaric activities and terrorism.
“The main issue in Syria and Iraq is oil trade, the Islamist factor is secondary," said Putin while accusing Turkish leadership of leading country in a more Islamist direction.
The Turkish government has already called Russia for bilateral talks over the situation and to re-establish economic relations as Moscow rather than Ankara seems to be more affected.
The Turkish economic ministry announced some economic reform packages last week, as well as future plan for economic sectors which can be hurt by Russian sanctions.
