MOSCOW (Sputnik) —North Caucasian militants receive medical assistance in Turkey and then go back to Russia with Turkish passports using the visa-free regime between the countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"We are recording that there are militants in Turkey from the North Caucasus… They are there receiving medical treatment and being guarded. Then they use the visa-free entry, enter with Turkish passports and ‘vanish’," Putin said at his annual press conference.
17 December 2015, 09:00 GMT
The Russian leader added that after that the Russian law enforcement has to search for the militants in the North Caucasus region or in major cities.
Russia is suspending its visa-free regime with Turkey from January 1, 2016 as part of restrictive measures imposed on Ankara in response to the downing of a Russian Su-24 bomber jet by the Turkish F-16 fighter on November 24.
