Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out Turkish leadership with harsh criticism during his annual address to the parliament. Putin accused Ankara of having trade ties with terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq. The leader of Russia and Turkey have been engaged in a war of words ever since the Turkish military brought down a Russian jet operating along the Syrian-Turkish border on November 24.
While accusations continue between both countries, Russia promised more sanctions against Turkey. Putin maintained his tone towards Turkey:
“Only Allah knows why they did it,” Putin said about the downing of the Russian jet to the parliament. “And I guess Allah decided to punish the Turkish ruling clique by stripping it of mind and reason.”
“We all know who profits in Turkey by letting terrorists sell oil.”
“Terrorists use this money to recruit ne members to plan new terrorist attacks against our people.”
This striking language comes a few days after the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference, when both leaderships exchanged criticism.
Previously, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dismissed the recent Russian allegations of supporting radical Islamist groups and having trade ties with Daesh. “Nobody attaches any value to the lies of this Soviet-style propaganda machine,” he said ahead of a trip to Azerbaijan.