Economic Measures Unlikely to Help Resolve Ankara-Moscow Crisis

Anti-Turkey economic restrictions will unlikely resolve the current standoff between the two countries, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — Russia-imposed economic restrictions against Turkey unlikely to help resolve the current standoff between Russia and Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday.

"We are sure that economic restrictions cannot contribute to political settlement. We have seen this position confirmed in relation to the embargo against Iran and Syria. And in what is a hard time for Russia, when it was under European sanctions — we were not involved in these either," Davutoglu said.

According to the prime minister, sanctions affect both sides.

"In this regard, I once again call on Mr Putin first of all to reduce the intensity of the rhetoric, the statements that raise tension. We propose to start negotiations," Davutoglu added.

On November 24, a Russian Su-24 bomber jet was brought down by an air-to-air missile while carrying out precision strikes on terrorist positions in northern Syria. The missile was fired by a Turkish F-16 fighter in response to an alleged violation of Turkish airspace by the Russian jet.

Both the Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command have confirmed that Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace and was illegally downed on Syrian territory.

In response to the incident, Russia introduced a set of economic measures against Turkey. In particular, Russia has prohibited the import of some products from Turkey, including poultry offal and certain fruit and vegetables, effective from January 2016.