Angered Putin out to punish Turkey
Kremlin’s decree lines up penalties
ANKARA, Turkey — Russian President Vladimir Putin called Saturday for sanctions against Turkey, after the downing last week by Turkey of a Russian warplane.
The Russian government on Saturday published a decree on its website listing the proposed sanctions.
The decree came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced regret over the shoot-down, saying his country was “truly saddened” by the event and wished it hadn’t occurred.
The Russian decree includes a ban on some goods and forbids extensions of labor contracts for Turks working in Russia as of Jan. 1. 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.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev early last week ordered his Cabinet to develop a list of goods for the sanctions registry. The gov-
ernment may delay publication of the list until Monday, the Gazeta.ru website reported Saturday, citing a government official.
Putin’s decree also calls for ending visa-free travel between Russia and Turkey and orders the tightening of control over Turkish air carriers in Russia “for security reasons.” The decree was issued “to protect Russian citizens from crimes,” a Kremlin statement said.
Russia earlier said it had been “backstabbed” by Turkey, whose F-16 fighter plane shot down a Russian Su-24 jet over the Turkish-Syrian border. The plane had been conducting a bombing raid on targets in Syria. The downing of the warplane soured optimism that ties between Russia and the West would improve in the wake of the terrorist attacks Nov. 13 in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31.
Putin 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.
Erdogan’s expression of regret Saturday was the first since the Tuesday downing, in which Turkey said the jet had entered its 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 it 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 animosity to escalate and take a destructive form that would lead to “saddening consequences.”
He renewed a call for a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a climate confer-
ence in Paris this week, saying it would be an opportunity to overcome tensions.
Erdogan’s 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.
Russia has deployed longrange S-400 air-defense missile systems to a Russian air base in Syria just 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.
On Saturday, Turkey issued a travel warning urging its citizens 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.”
REBELS RETAKE SYRIAN TOWN
Turmoil continued Saturday in Syria, where insurgents said they had seized a town in northern Aleppo province from troops and allied Shiite forces in intense fighting.
A coalition of rebel groups and insurgents that includes the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front announced that it took back control of Tal Bajer in the southwestern countryside of Aleppo after losing it to Syrian troops backed by Lebanese Hezbollah militiamen and Iranian forces earlier this month.
The Nusra Front released
drone footage that purports to show Iranian fighters fleeing from rebels advancing on the town with tanks.
Opposition forces have inflicted losses on Syrian troops and their allies in the area, repelling their advances despite Russian airstrikes.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that insurgents seized Tal Bajer.
In London, hundreds of demonstrators on Saturday urged British lawmakers not to back airstrikes on the Islamic State group in Syria.
Protesters chanting “Don’t bomb Syria” gathered outside Prime Minister David Cameron’s 10 Downing St. office. Protests also were being held Saturday in other British cities.
Britain’s air force is already part of a U.S.-led campaign against the militants in Iraq, and Cameron argued Thursday that the strikes should be expanded to Syria.
The government is trying to build support among lawmakers for military action before calling a vote in Parliament, which could come this week.
The main opposition Labor Party is deeply divided. Leader Jeremy Corbyn said he will oppose airstrikes, but many Labor legislators back them.
The decree was issued “to protect Russian citizens from crimes,” a Kremlin statement said.