Stab in the back for Kremlin leader
On November 24, 2015, Turkish air force shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber near the Syrian-Turkish border. This incident has become one of the most serious crises in relations between Russia and Turkey in recent decades.
In 2015, a Turkish F-16 fighter fired a missile at a Russian Su-24 aircraft and shot it down. A pilot died in the ejection. The second pilot was rescued by Russian and Syrian special services. The Russian Su-24 had violated its airspace, despite repeated warnings.
Putin described the incident as a “stab in the back” and accused Turkey of supporting terrorists. Relations between the two countries cooled sharply and became confrontational.
Russia suspended high-level contacts with Turkey and imposed a number of sanctions, such as a ban on importing Turkish products, suspension of visa-free travel and sanctions against the tourism industry.
The Russian Federation wanted to cripple the tourism sector of the Turkish economy by limiting the influx of Russian tourists into the country. A ban was introduced on employers hiring Turkish citizens.
Turkey's determined response drew a red line for Moscow. Although Turkey is a member of NATO, it maintains its distance from other alliance members. The country has the second largest army in NATO after the United States.
(MH with FM/Source: Tagtik/Photo: Pixabay)