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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sat dowb with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin Tuesday for a diplomatic reset — just as relations with the United States and Europe show strains after last month's failed coup. The summit was aimed at ending a period of high tension and trade sanctions after Turkey downed a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border last November — an act described by Putin as a "stab in the back." Turkey's relations with traditional allies including the U.S. have faltered over Ankara's post-coup crackdown, which has seen nearly 18,000 people detained or arrested and tens of thousands...

After Turkish stab in the back, Putin twists the knife Tom Parfitt The Times January 5, 2016 12:00AM After a Turkish F-16 shot down a Russian bomber in November, President Vladimir Putin complained Turkey's leadership had stabbed Russia in the back. Now he is twisting the knife by cultivating Ankara's old enemy, the Kurds. Last week, Selahattin Demirtas, leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic party, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow and criticised Turkey for bringing down the Su-24. It is thought unlikely that Moscow would directly fund Kurdish guerillas inside Turkey, but last month the Free Syrian...

Russia's payback against Turkey over shoot-down may turn deadly By Josh Cohen December 15, 2015 It was a clash with ominous Cold War overtones. Turkey's recent destruction of a Russian Su-24 jet was the first time in 63 years a NATO jet shot down a Russian one. Although Ankara claimed the jet was in Turkish territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of a "stab in the back"and being "accomplices of terrorists." Putin subsequently cancelled Russian energy projects in Turkey, and also banned the import of Turkish fruit and vegetables. What Putin said next, though, should send chills down Turkish...

Vladimir Putin was dead serious when he warned Turkey that it would "regret more than once" shooting down a Russian fighter yet. Not only has the Russian president announced all kinds of sanctions against Turkey, but he's now also surrounding the Islamist-led country with his military. As Hurriyet Daily News reports, Putin has sent 14 helicopters to Erebuni Air Base in Armenia. Half of these helicopters are armored Mi-24 attack helicopters, while the other seven are Mi-8 model transport helicopters. Meanwhile, Putin has also sent a submarine called the 'Rostov-on-Don' to the Mediterranean. Russia has a naval base there, and...

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to Rossiya-1 television channel presenter Vladimir Solovyov on Oct. 11. He spoke about the military operation in Syria, fighting with terrorists, and the ambitions of Russian foreign policy. On terrorism “This [the bombing in Ankara] is an attempt to destabilize the situation in Turkey, our neighbor and Russia’s friend. The fact that this has happened during an election campaign is a sign of a clearly provocative act. But we will be effective in combating terrorism only if we fight this evil together.” “I do not understand some of our colleagues in Europe and...