简体中文
Relations between Moscow and Ankara would go into a nosedive following the downing of the Russian Su-24 warplane and no rapid recuperation of the relationship is seen on the horizon, Russian experts said.
Describing the event as "a stab in the back by accomplices of terrorists," Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned Turkey of serious consequences in bilateral relations as "Russia would not tolerate crimes" like this one.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow will seriously reassess and revise its relations with Ankara in light of the incident, while stressing that "Russia is not going to war with Turkey."
"Judging from the comments of the president, the relations are doomed to be tense," Fyodor Lukyanov, chief editor of the Russia in the Global Politics magazine, was quoted as saying by Kommersant business daily.
On the other hand, the expert believes that both sides are likely to show willingness for restraint and calmness, as Russia is stepping up cooperation with Europe, France in particular, on peaceful solutions to the Syria crisis.
"Under such circumstances, Ankara would not like to see an escalation of the situation," he said.
The international community has urged both sides to be calm after the downing of the Russian warplane. Top diplomats from both the United States and the EU called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday trying to de-escalate tension arising from the incident.
Viktor Baranycts, commentator for the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, said Russia should demand as soon as possible the evidence of airspace violation from Turkey.
"If the Turkish side cannot provide relevant evidence, Russia would have reason to see the shooting down of the warplane as a declaration of war, and reserve the right to launch similar act," said Baranycts.
Turkey said two of its F-16 fighters took action because the Russian military jet ignored multiple warnings for violating Turkish airspace.
However, Moscow said it has evidence the downed military jet had been flying over Syrian territory before it was shot down. The surviving pilot of the downed plane said on Wednesday that no visual or video warning was received from the Turkish side.
A latest release by the Turkish military said Turkey had no knowledge that it was a Russian warplane when it was being warned on Tuesday.
Some experts believed Russia will no doubt ratchet up military operation against Ankara-supported forces in Syria.
"Russia favors symmetrical answers in such cases. I am not talking about shooting down a Turkish aircraft, but I believe there will be an offensive against groups in Syria supported by Turkey and or Turkish partners," Lukyanov said.
Moscow will also respond to the act by intensifying its campaign against the Islamic State terrorist group, Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russian State Duma, lower house of the parliament, told the RIA Novosti news agency.
"If someone in Ankara planned this as an act of intimidation against Russia, that was a miscalculation," the official said.
The Russian people have been expressing their grievance over the incident as well.
On Tuesday evening and Wednesday, hundreds of protestors gathered in front of Turkish Embassy in Moscow. The angry crowd threw eggs, stones and other objects at the compound and smashed several window glass on the facade.
Meanwhile, a host of Russian businessmen have called for a boycott of Turkish products following the incident.
The Russian animal and plant safety watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said Wednesday it would ban poultry meat imports from a Turkish factory from Dec. 1 after discovering prohibited and dangerous substances in its products. The watchdog denied the ban had anything to do with plummeting ties between the two countries.
