Russia and Turkey hold first high-level talks since downing of jet

BELGRADE // The foreign ministers of Turkey and Russia met in Belgrade on Thursday in the first high-level bilateral talks since the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkish jets sparked an unprecedented crisis.

“The meeting between the two foreign ministers lasted for 40 minutes,” a Turkish foreign ministry official said.

The meeting between Russia’s Sergei Lavrov and Turkey’s Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of the ministerial council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, was also confirmed by a diplomatic source in Belgrade.

Two Turkish F-16 jets shot down a Russian plane on November 24 which Ankara said violated its airspace. Russia insists that the plane did not cross from Syria and accused Turkey of a deliberate provocation.

The plane incident has plunged the two countries’ relationship into a crisis, with Russia demanding an official apology from the Turkish leadership.

Mr Lavrov cancelled a scheduled trip to Istanbul on November 25 and urged Russian citizens to avoid any travel to Turkey, a top tourist destination for many Russian tourists.

Russian president Vladimir Putin snubbed an offer from Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the climate summit in Paris early this week.

Speaking in his state of the nation address, Mr Putin called for “one powerful fist” to fight terrorism, hinted at more sanctions against Turkey and accused Western powers of creating “a zone of chaos.”

Mr Putin called for an end to what he called double standards that hampered uniting global efforts in fighting terrorism.

He didn’t address efforts to start a peace process in Syria in his speech, focusing on the need to pool global efforts in the fight against terrorism following the attacks in Paris and the downing of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt. ISIL has claimed responsibility for both.

“We must leave all arguments and disagreements behind and make one powerful fist, a single antiterror front, which would work on the basis of international law under the aegis of the United Nations,” he said,

“That means no shelter to bandits, no double standards, no contacts whatsoever with any terrorist organisations, no attempts to use them for some selfish goals, no criminal, bloody business with terrorists.”

Mr Putin specifically targeted Turkey, accusing it of “allowing terrorists to earn money by selling oil stolen from Syria.”

Moscow deployed long-range air defence missile systems to its base in Syria 50 kilometres south of the border with Turkey and slammed an array of economic sanctions on Turkey, including a ban on imports of fruit and vegetables and the sales of tour packages.

“We will remind them not just once about what they have done, and they will feel sorry about it more than just once,” Mr Putin said without spelling out what other actions Russia may take.

“But if anyone thinks that after committing a treacherous war crime, the killing of our people, they will get away with (the ban on imports) of tomatoes or some restrictions on construction and other industries, they are deeply mistaken.”

Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that talks with Turkey on building a pipeline that would allow Russia to export natural gas to the European Union through Turkey have been halted.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denied that his country was involved in oil trade with the ISIL, and has pledged to step down if Moscow proves its accusations. The Russian defence ministry on Wednesday released an array of satellite and aerial images which it said show hundreds of oil lorries streaming across the border. The ministry insisted that the images definitively prove Turkey’s massive oil trade with the ISIL.

Top defence ministry officials also accused Mr Erdogan and his family of personally benefiting from the oil trade with the ISIL, although they didn’t provide any evidence to back the claim.

Mr Erdogan on Thursday claimed that the largest dealer for the ISIL oil is a Syrian who also has a Russian passport.

Russia is reinforcing a military airport in central Syria as a new base for its warplanes as government forces edge closer to Palmyra, a military source and monitoring group said Thursday.

“The preparation phase for the Shaayrat base is nearing its end. It is being prepared to become a Russian military base,” the military source said.

“A number of Russian advisers arrived in Shaayrat weeks ago,” the source said. The base “will begin being used by Russian forces before the end of this month”.

* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press