Russia Threatens Economic Retaliation Over Turkey Attack

Erdogan: Moves 'Unfitting' for Politicians to Make

by Jason Ditz, 

After Tuesday’s Turkish downing of a Russian bomber over Syria, the Russian government is talking up economic retaliation, with an eye toward cutting some trade with Turkey and restricting certain big-ticket projects in Turkey in protest for the attack.

Early talk is over limiting produce purchases, buying from nations like Israel and Iran instead, and slowing certain major projects, like the nuclear power plant Russia is building for Turkey, as economic measures against them.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called such moves “unfitting” for politicians to make, but he is also insisting he will never apologize for shooting down the Russian plane, even though he says he’d have never shot it down if he knew it belonged to Russia.

Russia is Turkey’s third most important importer, and trade with them is worth tens of billions of dollars. Slowing construction of projects like the southern gas pipeline could do considerable damage to both Russia and Turkey, exacerbating tensions.

http://news.antiwar.com/2015/11/26/russia-threatens-economic-retaliation-over-turkey-attack/