Russia’s Putin Sees “No Prospect” of Improving Ties with Turkey
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he "sees no prospect" of improving relations with the current leadership of Turkey after it downed a Russian jet bomber last month.
"It is hard for us to reach agreement with the current Turkish leadership, if at all possible," Putin said during his annual news conference, according to Reuters.
He added that the downing of the Russian warplane was "an act of enmity" and he did not understand why Turkey did it.
"What have they achieved? Maybe, they thought that we would run away from there (Syria)? But Russia is not such a country," the Russian president added.
His comments during an annual news conference came against the backdrop of tense relations between Ankara and Moscow after Turkey downed a Russian Su-24 bomber near the Syrian border on November 24.
Turkey claims the incident happened after repeated warnings over air space violations, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left the Syrian air space.
