Putin Accuses Turkish Leadership of Aiding Terror
Local Editor
Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at "part of the leadership in Turkey" during his annual address to the parliament, accusing Ankara of having trade ties with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.
Putin said: "We were prepared to cooperate with Turkey on most sensitive issues and go further than their allies. Allah knows why they did it. Apparently Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by taking their sanity."
He also stressed that Moscow's anger over the incident is directed at particular individuals and not at the Turkish people, promising more sanctions for Turkey.
In addition, Putin said: "We have many friends in Turkey," adding that "they should know that we do not equate them and part of the current Turkish leadership, which holds a direct responsibility for the deaths of our troops in Syria."
He also warned that the killing of Russian officers would have long-term consequences for those responsible.
"We will not forget this aid to terrorists. We have always considered betrayal the worst and most shameful act. Let those in Turkey know it who shot our pilots in the back, who hypocritically tries to justify themselves and their actions and cover up the crimes of terrorists," he said.
Putin said Russia would not resort to saber-rattling to respond to the Turkish actions, but neither would it limit itself to the economic sanctions it imposed since the incident.
He stressed that the Russian operation in Syria is aimed first and foremost at preventing fighters who went to the Middle East from Russia and its neighboring countries from returning home and bringing the threat of terrorist attacks to Russian soil.
"They are getting money, weapons, gathering strength. If they get stronger, winning there, they will inevitably come here to sow fear and hatred, blast, kill and torture people," he said.
The Russian President called on all nations that have pledged to fight terrorism to join forces and abandon the notion that terrorist groups can be used for country's own goals. He stressed that the rise of terrorism in the Middle East over the last few years was caused to a large degree by foreign meddling, as certain nations sought to oust undesired leaders in countries such as Iraq, Libya and Syria.
"Some countries in the Middle East and North Africa, which used to be stable and relatively prosperous, Iraq, Libya and Syria have turned into zones of chaos and anarchy that pose a threat to entire world, Putin said.
Speaking on Thursday before the Federal Assembly, Putin added: "We know why it happened. We know who wanted to oust unwanted regimes, and rudely impose their own rules. They triggered hostilities, destroyed statehoods, set people against each other and simply washed their hands [of the situation] - giving way to radicals, extremists and terrorists."
Russia's long-time fight against international terrorism was at the forefront of the president's speech. Putin reminded that the country lost thousands of lives over two decades of terrorist attacks and is still not safe from terrorist attacks, as evidenced by the bombings in Volgograd in 2014 and the bombing of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt in October.
Breaking the bandits' back took us almost 10 years," Putin said. "We practically pushed the terrorists out of Russia, but we are still engaged in a fierce fight against the remainder of the gangs. This evil still comes back occasionally," he said.
"We are facing a destructive barbaric ideology again and we have no right to allow those new obscurants to achieve their goals. We have to abandon all differences, create a single fist, a single anti-terrorist front, which would act in accordance with the international law and under the aegis of the United Nations," he concluded.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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