Putin, center, attends a farewell ceremony for Karlov at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. Karlov was fatally shot by a Turkish policeman Monday in a gathering in Ankara, Turkey. AP Photo
MOSCOW: Those who seek to harm Russian-Turkish relations may be behind the downing of Russia’s Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft and the assassination of ambassador Andrei Karlov, Russia’s TASS news agency reported Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying.
“The tragedy that occurred a few days ago, the assassination of Russia’s ambassador, is an attempt to hurt Russia and harm Russian-Turkish relations,” the president stressed at his annual news conference.
‘Frankly speaking, I did not believe that our aircraft was not downed on orders from Turkey’s leadership but some people, who wanted to harm the Russian-Turkish relations, were behind the attack,” Putin said.
“But now, after our ambassador was killed by a former police officer, I feel I may change my mind. Now it seems to me that everything is possible, some destructive elements could have entered Turkey’s state agencies including law enforcement agencies, and the army as well.”
“I don’t think I should put the blame on someone now but we see what is happening,” the Russian president added.
“Will it damage Russian-Turkish relations? No, it will not because we understand the importance of bilateral ties and we will develop them in every possible way,” he said.
“Over the past year we have been able to normalise relations taking into account Turkey’s interests and Russia’s interests as well. I believe we will continue to find compromises in the future,” Putin added. – Bernama