Another key player is stepping into the blustery confrontation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In the latest response from Turkey, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who is often characterized as the friendly face of his government, has published a conciliatory essay on the shooting down of a Russian warplane.
In the article published Friday in the Times of London, Davutoglu says the shooting down by Turkey this week “was not — and is not — an act against a specific country.”
If Turkey and Russia are at odds, he says, it will only benefit ISIS.
“While the measures to defend our territory will remain in place, Turkey will work with Russia and our allies to calm tensions,” Davutoglu writes.
The Prime Minister’s tone stands in stark contrast to that of the presidents of Russia and Turkey — Putin and Erdogan, respectively.
The two had engaged in days of chest-thumping rhetoric, with each demanding the other apologize. And Russia has started to implement de facto economic sanctions to punish Turkey.
Turkey will not apologize for downing the Russian fighter jet that Turkey says violated its airspace near the Syrian border, Erdogan said Thursday in an exclusive CNN interview.
“I think if there is a party that needs to apologize, it is not us,” Erdogan said. “Those who violated our airspace are the ones who need to apologize. Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties, which consisted of responding to … violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence.”
He went a step further in a meeting with community leaders in Ankara.
“If the same violation occurs today, Turkey has to react the same way,” he said.
Turkey has said it shot down the Russian warplane Tuesday only after it ignored several warnings and entered Turkish airspace.
Russia has contested the claim, and its rescued co-pilot Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin told state media that “there were no warnings — not via the radio, not visually.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the downing of the Russian jet appeared to be “a planned provocation.”
Charges of terrorism
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated with Erdogan accusing Russia of deceit and Moscow announcing it would deploy anti-aircraft missiles to Syria. A post on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Facebook page showed an S-400 missile system being unloaded from a Russian cargo plane.
The countries’ militaries suspended their channels of cooperation, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Out come the economic weapons
Now the economic weapons are being unsheathed. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has directed government ministers draw up economic measures against Turkey.
Russia’s Agriculture Ministry announced it was strengthening controls over food and agriculture imports from Turkey. A gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, in which Russia and Turkey have jointly invested, could also be targeted, Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukaev said in a tweet.
In addition, Russia’s state-run consumer protection body said it had concerns about the quality and safety of children’s clothing, furniture and cleaning products originating from Turkey.
Some Russian tour operators have said they will be curtailing travel to Turkey — a top destination for Russian vacationers.