BREAKING (11/24/2015): Turkey Shoots Down Russian Fighter

[American Patriot]

Really now..... Obama ordered it?


Matt Bracken

11 hrs ·


http://news.yahoo.com/us-knew-flight-path-plane-downed-turk…
If Obama didn't order the shoot down, he okayed it.
The goal is to sabotage any joint US-Russian cooperation in Syria.
We let ISIS refineries and tanker truck convoys run unimpeded for a year, but we sure had a hair-trigger and a missile ambush set for the Russian jet.

US knew flight path of plane downed by Turkey: Putin

17 hours ago

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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with French President during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 26, 2015 (AFP Photo/Sergei Chirikov)

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Moscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had given prior information to the United States of the flight path of the plane downed by Turkey on the Syrian border.
"The American side, which leads the coalition that Turkey belongs to, knew about the location and time of our planes' flights, and we were hit exactly there and at that time," Putin said at a joint press conference with French counterpart Francois Hollande in the Kremlin.
Ahead of the Hollande talks, Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traded barbs, with the Russian leader saying he was waiting for an apology and Erdogan ruling out any such move.
Putin on Thursday dismissed as "rubbish" Turkey's claim that it would not have shot down the jet if it had known it was Russian.
"They [our planes] have identification signs and these are well visible," Putin said. "Instead of [...] ensuring this never happens again, we are hearing unintelligible explanations and statements that there is nothing to apologise about."
Putin has also accused Turkey of buying oil from the Islamic State jihadist group, whose financing heavily relies on the sale of energy resources.
Putin said there was "no doubt" that oil from "terrorist-controlled" territory in Syria was making its way across the border into Turkey.
"We see from the sky where these vehicles [carrying oil] are going," Putin said. "They are going to Turkey day and night."
"These barrels are not only carrying oil but also the blood of our citizens because with this money terrorists buy weapons and ammunition and then organise bloody attacks," he added.

[Ryan Ruck]

Putin Sends Air Defense Missiles To Syria To Deter Turkey

November 25, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered state-of-the art air defense missile systems to be deployed at a Russian air base in Syria following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey, a move that raised the threat of a military confrontation between the NATO member and Russia.

The S-400 missile systems, which will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria's coastal province of Latakia, located just about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey, are capable of targeting Turkish jets with deadly precision. If Russia shot down a Turkish plane, NATO would be required to intervene.

Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber Tuesday, saying it crossed into its airspace from Syria despite repeated warnings. One of its two pilots was killed by militants after bailing out, while his crewmate was rescued by Syrian army commandos and delivered in good condition to the Russian base.

Putin said the Russian plane remained in Syria's skies when it was shot down. He described Turkey's action as a "crime" and a "stab in the back," warning of serious consequences.

On Wednesday, Putin ordered the military to deploy the S-400s to Hemeimeem and took other measures that "should be sufficient to ensure flight safety."

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday that the Russian missile cruiser Moskva already has moved closer to shore to protect the Russian aircraft flying missions near Syria's border with Turkey with its long-range Fort air defense system.

Shoigu also said that from now on all Russian bombers will be escorted by fighters on their combat missions in Syria. He said that his ministry has severed all contacts with the Turkish military.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who canceled his planned trip to Turkey after the incident, described the shooting down of the Russian plane as a "planned provocation."

He said the Turkish action came after Russian planes successfully targeted the oil infrastructure used by the Islamic State, alleging that Turkey benefited from the oil trade.

Lavrov also said that Turkish territory was used by "terrorists" to prepare terror attacks in other countries, but offered no details.

He said that Russia "has no intention to go to war with Turkey," but added that Moscow will re-consider its ties with Ankara.

The Russian Foreign Ministry already has warned Russians against traveling to Turkey, and some leading Russian tourist agencies suspended the sales of tour packages to Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that his country does not wish to escalate tensions with Russia over the downing of the plane.

Speaking at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation economy meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Turkey favors "peace, dialogue and diplomacy." He defended his country's move to shoot down the plane saying: "no one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the violation of its rights."

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also sought to ease tensions, saying that Russia is Turkey's "friend and neighbor" and insisting relations cannot be "sacrificed to accidents of communication."

Davutoglu told his party's lawmakers on Wednesday that Turkey didn't know the nationality of the plane that was brought down on Tuesday until Moscow announced it was Russian.

He again defended Turkey's action, saying Russia was warned on several occasions that Turkey would take action in case its border is violated in line with its military rules of engagement.

Davutoglu also said Russia is an "important partner and tops the list of countries with which we have shown great sensitivity in building ties."

The Turkish prime minister, however, also criticized Russian and Syrian operations in Syria's Turkmen region, saying there is "not one single" presence of the Islamic State group there. Davutoglu demanded that operations there stop immediately.

Video of the S-400s being offloaded:

[Ryan Ruck]

Turkey Reportedly Sends Another 20 Tanks to Syrian Border

November 25, 2015

The Anadolu news agency reports that the Turkish authorities have sent tanks to its border with Syria.

The Turkish military has sent 20 more tanks to an armored brigade it has stationed at Turkey's western border with Syria, Turkey's Anadolu agency reported on Wednesday.

"Accompanied by police and gendarmes, 20 tanks were sent by rail from Turkey's western provinces by railway to Gaziantep in the south of the country, and then redirected to the Syrian border," a military source told the agency.

It was also reported that the Turkish air force sent 18 fighter jets on a patrol exercise at its border with Syria on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during the press conference in Moscow that Russia supports the idea put forward by French President Francois Hollande of closing the border between Turkey and Syria in order to stop the lifeline for militants.

“I think this is a good suggestion. I think that President Hollande will tell us about this more in detail tomorrow. We would be ready to seriously review measures necessary for this…Many say that in closing the border, we would stop or sever the terrorist threat in Syria,” he said.

The Russian Foreign Minister has help a press conference following a downing of the Russian Su-24 jet by Turkish F-16 over Syria.

On Tuesday, a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet crashed in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plane was downed by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet over Syria, falling 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Turkish border. Ankara claimed it downed the Russian aircraft because it violated Turkish airspace. Moscow has firmly denied the allegations.

[Ryan Ruck]

“I Gave The Order Myself” − Turkish PM On Downing Russian Plane

November 25, 2015

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu today revealed that he personally gave the order to down the Russian Su-24 fighter jet that lead to the death of one pilot.

“Despite all the warnings, we had had to destroy the aircraft” Davutoğlu told a meeting of his AK party. “The Turkish Armed Forces carried out orders given by me personally”

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Minister told reporters today that the Russian and Syrian special forces have successfully completed a rescue operation to rescue the navigator who ejected from the Su-24.

“The Captain has been delivered to our base alive and well,” General Sergei Shoigu said. “I would like to thank all of you for working all night at great risk. They completed the job at 03:40 Moscow time.”

Russia has begun deploying S-400 “Triumph” anti-aircraft batteries near the Hmeimim airbase in Syria, the Defence Ministry announced in a release.

Both Davutoğlu and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces, continued to defend the decision to shoot down the Russian plane saying that his country had the right to defend its national airspace and insisting that the Su-24 had made an incursion into Turkish territory and was downed while still inside Turkey’s airspace.

A letter sent to the UN Security Council by Turkey’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations alleges that the Russian Su-24 spent 17 seconds inside Turkish territory before it was shot down.

NATO announced that the organization agreed with Turkey’s claim and pledged to stand in solidarity with Ankara.

“The Allied assessments we have got from several Allies during the day are consistent with information we have been provided with from Turkey,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporter at press conference. “So the information we have from other Allies is consistent with what we have got from Turkey.”

The United States, however, seems to be privately disagreeing with Ankara’s assessment believing that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, according to top US official who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

[Ryan Ruck]

Turkey Says Will Not Apologise To Russia Over Jet Downing

November 26, 2015

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu vowed Thursday that Ankara would not apologise to Moscow over the downing of a warplane on the Syrian border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier his country had not received any apology from Turkish leaders.

“We don’t need to apologise on an occasion that we are right,” Cavusoglu said.

“But we said on the phone yesterday (Wednesday) that we are sorry,” he added, referring to a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

[Ryan Ruck]

Turkey Risks Sparking World War, Says Iraq's Maliki

November 26, 2015

Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki Thursday accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of pushing the world to the brink of a global conflict after Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane.

Maliki, a former prime minister who remains very influential, lashed out at Erdogan after Turkey shot down a Russian jet it said briefly violated its airspace during operations in northern Syria on Tuesday.

"Erdogan claims that a Russian aircraft entered Turkey's airspace for a few seconds, forgetting that its own planes violate Iraqi and Syrian airspace every day," he said in a statement.

Turkish fighter jets have in recent months carried out a series of deadly strikes against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in their bases in the north of Iraq.

"Erdogan's double standards and aggressive policies are threatening a new world war," he said.

The authorities in Baghdad have long accused Ankara of playing a key role in the rise of the Islamic State group, which took over entire regions of Syria and Iraq over the past two years.

Maliki and his allies among Tehran-backed Shiite militia groups battling IS jihadists see Moscow as a key ally and have welcomed Russia's growing involvement in the regional conflict.

The downing of the Russian jet has threatened ties between two major rival players in the Syrian war and raised fears it could fuel wider geopolitical conflict, although both Ankara and Moscow have stressed they want to avoid military escalation.

[Ryan Ruck]

Russian MP Vladimir Zhirinovsky Suggests Destroying Istanbul With A Nuclear Strike

Russian MP Vladimir Zhirinovsky called Turkey Russia’s number one enemy and suggested to destroy Istanbul with a nuclear strike

November 28, 2015

According to Russian media, MP Vladimir Zhirinovsky proposed to crush Turkey with a nuclear missile attack, Joinfo.ua reports with the reference to Korrespondent.

“Istanbul is very easy to destroy: it takes just one nuclear bomb to throw in the Strait (Bosphorus – Ed.), and it will be washed away. It would be such a terrible flood, the water column would rise to 10-15 meters, and there would be no city with nine million people,” – said the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

According to Zhirinovsky, Turkey’s NATO allies will not intervene, “not wanting to die in a nuclear fire.”

Zhirinovsky said that at present Turkey is the number one enemy for Russia.

Russian-Turkish relations have deteriorated markedly after November 24, when Russian Su-24, shot down by Turkish Air Force for violation of their air space on November 24 near the Syrian border after 10 times warning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called this incident “a stab in the back” and said that this attack will have tragic consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced today that Russia suspends visa-free regime with Turkey from January 1, 2016.

[Ryan Ruck]

Putin, Citing National Security, Signs Turkey Sanctions Decree

November 29, 2015

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing a raft of punitive economic sanctions against Turkey on Saturday, underlining the depth of the Kremlin's anger toward Ankara four days after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane.

The decree, which entered into force immediately, said charter flights from Russia to Turkey would be banned, that tour firms would be told not to sell any holidays there, and that unspecified Turkish imports would be outlawed, and Turkish firms and nationals have their economic activities halted or curbed.

"The circumstances are unprecedented. The gauntlet thrown down to Russia is unprecedented. So naturally the reaction is in line with this threat," Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said hours before the decree was published.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters the sanctions would only worsen the standoff between Moscow and Ankara.

But aides to Putin say he is incandescent that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has yet to apologize for the Nov. 24 incident near the Syrian-Turkish border in which one Russian pilot was killed along with a Russian marine who tried to rescue the crew of the downed SU-24 jet.

Senior Russian officials have called the episode, one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a NATO member country and Russia for half a century, a pre-planned provocation.

Erdogan has been equally robust. He has said Turkey will not apologize for downing the jet, saying Ankara was fully within its rights to defend its air space. On Saturday, he appeared to soften his rhetoric a little, saying the episode had saddened him.

Putin's spokesman suggested the Russian leader was ready for a long standoff however, saying he was "fully mobilized" to tackle what he regarded as an unprecedented threat from Turkey.

NATIONAL SECURITY

The decree, posted on the Kremlin's website, spoke of the need to protect Russia's national security and Russian citizens "from criminal and other illegal activities".

In it, Putin ordered the government to prepare a list of goods, firms and jobs that would be affected. Some of the measures announced have already been informally introduced.

The government is expected to publish the list of banned imports on Monday, Interfax news agency reported, citing a government source. The list is likely to include food and some other products, a second government source said.

Turkey mainly sells food, agricultural products and textiles to Moscow and is also one of the most popular holiday destinations for Russians. Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said he thought up to 200,000 Turkish citizens could be on Russian soil.

Putin signed the decree days before a climate change summit in Paris. Erdogan said earlier on Saturday it could be a chance to repair relations with Moscow.

"Confrontation will not bring anyone happiness. As much as Russia is important for Turkey, Turkey is important for Russia," Erdogan said in a televised speech in the western city of Baliksehir.

Peskov said Putin was aware of a Turkish request for him to meet Erdogan on the sidelines of the Paris conference but gave no indication of whether such a meeting would take place.

He called the behavior of the Turkish air force "absolute madness" and said Ankara's subsequent handling of the crisis had reminded him of the "theater of the absurd."

"Nobody has the right to traitorously shoot down a Russian plane from behind," Peskov told Russia's "News on Saturday" TV program, calling Turkish evidence purporting to show the Russian jet had violated Turkish air space "cartoons".

Turkey's foreign ministry advised people on Saturday to postpone all non-urgent travel to Russia.

Peskov, according to the TASS news agency, also spoke on Saturday of how Erdogan's son had a "certain interest" in the oil industry. Putin has said oil from Syrian territory controlled by Islamic State militants is finding its way to Turkey.

Erdogan has spoken of slander and asked anyone making such accusations to back up their words with evidence.

[Ryan Ruck]

Turkey Angered By Rocket-Brandishing On Russian Naval Ship Passing Istanbul

December 6, 2015

Turkey accused Russia of a "provocation" on Sunday after a serviceman on the deck of a Russian naval ship allegedly held a rocket launcher on his shoulder while the vessel passed through Istanbul.

Relations have deteriorated sharply since Turkey last week became the first NATO member in more than half a century to down a Russian plane, which it said had violated its airspace while flying sorties over Syria. The pilot was killed.

The NTV news channel broadcast photographs that it said showed a serviceman brandishing a rocket launcher on the deck of the landing ship Caesar Kunikov as it passed on Saturday through the Bosphorus Strait, which bisects the city of Istanbul. It said the ship was believed to be en route to Syria.

"For a Russian soldier to display a rocket launcher or something similar while passing on a Russian warship is a provocation," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters, according to the Hurriyet news site. "If we perceive a threatening situation, we will give the necessary response."

The Bosphorus offers the only passage to the world's oceans for the Russian Black Sea fleet. A World War One-era treaty obliges Turkey to allow all ships to pass during peacetime.

Turkey had considered Russia a strategic partner as its main energy supplier, despite deep differences over Syria. But since Turkey shot the plane down, Moscow has introduced economic sanctions including a ban on Turkish foods and other products worth as much as $1 billion.NTV said three NATO frigates with Canadian, Spanish and Portuguese flags had been moored in Istanbul as the Caesar Kunikov passed through.