Russia suspends military contacts with Turkey

Moscow: Russia yesterday suspended all military contacts with Turkey as ties between the two countries plummeted after the downing of a Russian warplane, the defence ministry said.
“Today (Thursday), all cooperation contacts have been suspended between Russian defence ministry and the Turkish Armed Forces…including the so-called hotline set up in order to avoid incidents during Russia’s air campaign against terrorist infrastructure in Syria,” the ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Konashenkov said the Turkish side refused to hand the Russian military attache any materials on the downing of Russia’s Su-24 jet.

Turkey-Russia relations have worsened after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 warplane on the Syrian border on Tuesday for alleged violation of its air space.

Denying the allegations, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incident a ‘stab in the back’, and warned of serious consequences for bilateral relations.