Turkey- Turkish President Erdoan warns Russia 'not to play with fire'
Date
11/27/2015 6:49:23 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoanhas warnedRussia“not to play with fire” in the wake of a crisis betweenAnkaraand Moscow following the downing of aRussianjet by Turkey on Nov. 24 near the Syrian border.
“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin says ‘those who have double standards on terrorism are playing with fire.’ I totally agree with him” Erdoan said Nov. 27 in the northern province of Bayburt.
“Indeed supporting the [Bashar] al-Assad regime in Syria which has killed 380000 people is playing with fire. Striking opposition groups that have international legitimacy with the excuse of fighting against Daesh [an acronym of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ISIL] is playing with fire. Using an incident in which Turkey’s righteousness is accepted by the whole world as an excuse to torment our citizens who were inRussiato attend a fair is playing with fire. Irresponsibly hitting trucks in the region that are there for trade or humanitarian reasons is playing with fire. We sincerely adviseRussianot to play with fire” he added.
Erdoan also expressed his willingness to meet Putin during the upcoming climate change summit inParisin order to find common ground and avoid a further escalation of tension.
“We are uncomfortable with efforts to take the dispute over the downed jet into other areas of relations. Let’s not allow that to happen” he said underlining that maintaining good relations was beneficial for both countries.
Claiming that Turkey’s shooting down of theRussianjet was not “intentional” but simply a result of an automatic enforcement of rules of engagement Erdoan nevertheless argued that Turkey was right to do so.
“Turkey has proved its honesty” by releasing audio recordings of the warnings issued to theRussianpilots he added.
Erdoan also touched on the joint press conference held by Putin andFrenchPresident François Hollande on Nov. 26 describing the former’s comments as “unacceptable.” Denying allegations that Turkey has been purchasing oil from ISIL Erdoan said the oil trade between ISILRussiaand the Syrian regime had been documented by the United States.
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