Vladimir Putin announces economic sanctions against Turkey

Vladimir Putin has called for sanctions against Turkey after the downing of a Russian warplane on the Syrian border on Tuesday (24 November). The decree, published on the Kremlin's website, comprises a package of economic sanctions, which includes restrictions on imports from Turkey and Turkish companies operating in Russia and any Turkish nationals working for Russian companies.

The decree also calls for an end to charter flights between Russia and Turkey and for Russian tourism companies to stop selling package holidays to Turkey. On Friday (27 November) Russia suspended its visa-free arrangement with Turkey.

The sanctions will hit Turkey hard, as the two countries have important trade links. Russia is Turkey's second-largest trading partner. More than three million Russian tourists visited Turkey last year. There are 90,000 Turkish nationals working in Russia, and including their families, up to 200,000 residing in Moscow.

Turkey has exported food and agricultural produce worth over €1bn (£702m) to Russia already this year, and 20% of Russia's vegetable imports come from Turkey. Turkey's Anadolu Agency says exports of leather, textiles and clothes to Russia were worth more than $1.52bn (£1bn) last year.

The downing of the Russian jet has left the two countries at a diplomatic impasse. Moscow maintains that its SU-24 fighter jet was downed by a missile fired from a Turkish jet inside Syria. Turkey in turn, says the Russian plane had intruded into its airspace and ignored warnings to leave and was not recognized as a Russian jet, Sky News reports.

Mr Putin dismissed Turkey's claim that it would not have shot down the jet if it had known it was Russian as "rubbish". He also said that America – Turkey's ally over Syria - had known the flight path and coordinates of the downed Russian jet.

"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," Mr Putin said. "They [our planes] have identification signs and these are well visible."

On Saturday (28 November) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued to defend the shooting down of the jet and refused to apologise to Russia, but said he was "saddened" by the international incident.

"We wish it hadn't happened, but it happened. I hope something like this doesn't happen again," he said according to the AP.

Mr Erdoğan reiterated his call for a face-to-face meeting with Mr Putin on the sidelines of the Paris Climate talks next week. The Russian President however, is refusing to engage with Mr Erdogan directly because of Ankara's refusal to apologise for the downing of the Russian jet, a Putin aide said.

Earlier this week Erdoğan lashed out at against Russian claims his country is doing business with, and is sympathetic to Islamic State (Isis) and is purchasing oil from the terrorist group. Turkey's president responded by saying IS are selling oil to Syria's President al-Assad, accusing Russia of supporting the terrorist group by keeping Assad in power.