Russia and Türkiye accuse each other of hindering the fight against IS

More than two weeks after the Turkish Air Force shot down a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border, tensions between the two countries continue to escalate.

An IS target was hit by an airstrike by the Russian Air Force. Photo: Reuters

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on December 9 made statements that "added fuel to the fire" when he criticized Russia's military campaigns in Syria with strong language.

In an interview with foreign media yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accused Russia of seeking to expel Turkmen and Sunni Muslims from the region to protect the foundations of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and its military interests.

Mr. Davutoglu even said that Russia's airstrikes against the IS group were ineffective and only increased the strength of the rebel group.

However, Mr. Davutoglu also stated that Türkiye is ready to work with Russia to avoid air collisions. According to him, without coordination, incidents and useless confrontations will always occur.

On the same day, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev gave an interview to the press, affirming that he would defend Russia's decision to adopt sanctions against Türkiye after the Russian plane was shot down.

According to him, the Russian government's actions were not “punishment”, but “a defensive reaction” after Türkiye had launched a “direct attack against a foreign country”,

“War is always the worst thing that can happen, which is why Russia did not choose a proportionate response to what Türkiye did. Of course they violated all norms of international law and basically launched a direct attack against a foreign country.

We did not do that, but we also had to show them that they will have to answer for their actions. That is why we made such a decision, with the greatest concern being the safety of Russian citizens,” Mr. Medvedev said.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that Russia could not find any other explanation than Türkiye's desire to hinder anti-terrorism efforts or prevent Russia from operating in Syrian airspace, or even to derail the political process that is beginning to take shape on the basis of the Vienna agreement.

The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry even said that it was necessary to determine whether Türkiye was acting like a member of the US-led coalition by not bombing terrorists but bombing the Kurds, who are considered allies by the US in the fight against terrorism.

Russia has recovered the black box of the Su-24 fighter jet shot down by the Turkish air force on the Syrian border last month and announced that it will analyze the device with foreign experts.

According to VOV.VN