Speaking to fellow party members at a parliamentary meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara on Tuesday, Davutoğlu said that Turkey is contemplating its own set of measures and would choose to implement sanctions against Russia if Moscow's remain in place. He also said that Ankara remains open to talks with Russia at any time but it is against anyone dictating any terms to Turkey. The Turkish prime minister did not elaborate on what kind of measures Ankara is considering taking against Moscow.
Davutoğlu also said that his government is discussing ways to remedy the financial cost of Russian sanctions on Turkish agricultural producers. Russia imposed a raft of sanctions on Turkey after Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in late November after a violation of Turkish airspace. The incident has plunged bilateral relations to a historic low since the end of the Cold War and is threatening to degenerate into a broader confrontation in the regional theater.
The Turkish prime minister said that the incident took place near the Turkish-Syrian border, not the Turkish-Russian border. He called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to show empathy over Turkish concerns in Syria and asked how Russia would act if Russia's ethnic kindred were threatened in a neighboring country in an indirect reference to Ankara's sensitivities about Syrian Turkmens who are targets of the recent Russian military operation, along with the Syrian regime.
Speaking to the Russian Tass news agency in an interview, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu called for common sense and calm so as not to further jeopardize bilateral relations. He called on Russia to lift sanctions against Turkey, saying that such moves are bound to hit mutual interests for both economies. "Such measures will have its toll on both economies and Russian people will suffer as much as Turkish people," he added.
When asked about whether Turkey would consider implementing stricter control over access to the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits after the crisis with Russia, the Turkish foreign minister ruled out such an option and said Turkey would continue to implement the Montreux Convention with great care and transparency and in an objective manner.
Enraged by Turkey's downing of its warplane, Putin has vowed to not to forget the incident. Turkey has rejected numerous Russian demands to apologize for the incident, saying it did nothing wrong.
Russia warns NATO against reinforcing Turkey's air defense...
[todayszaman.com]
8/12/15
--
-
Related:
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
No comments :
Post a Comment
Only News