Emmanuel Thomas
November 28, 2015 – The Russian government has imposed a list of economic sanctions on Turkey for shooting down its fighter jet for allegedly encroaching on its airspace.
The government of Turkey said it shot down the war plane when the pilot failed to heed repeated warning to make a detour, a claim which President Vladimir Putin and the only surviving pilot on the plane have refuted.
In a statement published on its website, the Russian Government outlined a list of economic sanctions which it said was meant to protect Russian citizens.
According to the transcript of government meeting on the issue published on its website, Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev said downing of the Russian jet is an act of aggression.
“The Russian President has offered a political assessment of that tragedy, and I’ve commented on it too. It was definitely an act of aggression by Turkey, a neighbour and a NATO member. Military and political reaction to this crime has been provided and more will be forthcoming. I’ll talk about economic measures”, he said.
The economic sanctions he said include restrictions on Turkish goods, works and services in Russia.
“We have discussed this issue with the President in Yekaterinburg. Based on that meeting, the Government has been instructed to consider economic and cultural response measures to this act of aggression.
“Our decisions will be based on the law On Special Economic Measures of 30 December 2006.
“That law was intended to respond to situations like this and to protect our security. It stipulates the following measures: suspension of economic cooperation programmes, restrictions on financial and foreign trade transactions, amendments to import and export customs duties, measures in the tourism sector, transport (including transit), air flights and shipping services, cultural ties, and lastly, the workforce”, it added.
He said that the planned measures will be formalised within special regulations, most likely a Presidential executive order and a subsequent Government resolution.
“These documents will cover restrictions and bans on Turkish economic operations in Russia, restrictions and bans on Turkish imports, including agricultural products, on works and services provided in Russia by Turkish companies, and other measures.
“The same procedure may be applied to several investment projects, which were evidence of the high level of trust in our cooperation with Turkey. These agreements and investment projects could be suspended or terminated”, he said.
Russia is imposing the sanctions just as President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed regret over the incident and wished it never happened.
“We are truly saddened by this incident. We wish it hadn’t happened as such, but unfortunately such a thing has happened. I hope that something like this doesn’t occur again”, he said, adding that both country should not allow the incident to escalate and take a destructive form that would lead to saddening consequences.
He called for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a climate conference in Paris next week.
