To support its insistence that Russia’s Su-24 warplane was warned multiple times about its proximity to Turkish airspace before Turkish F-16s shot it down, Ankara has released audio recordings of the warning messages. On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed those recordings as forgeries.
“The internet is full of recordings, some very interesting, others very funny… How long did it take to edit together this masterpiece? Several days? Well, it’s value is clear now,” sneered Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, as reported by Russian propaganda outlet RT.com.
Sarcasm is fast becoming one of Russia’s primary exports to Turkey. In addition to Zakharova’s dismissal of the audio recordings, the Associated Press has Russian president Vladimir Putin slapping aside Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s indignant denials of Turkish profiteering from Islamic State oil.
“Let’s assume that Turkey’s political leadership knows nothing about it, it’s theoretically possible, albeit hard to believe,” said Putin. “There may be elements of corruption and insider deals. They should deal with it.”
As for Turkey’s exports to Russia, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev announced a wide range of economic sanctions against Turkey on Thursday, including “restrictions and bans on Turkish economic structures operating in Russian territory, restrictions and bans on deliveries of products, including foodstuffs,” as well as limits on labor that could deal significant damage to Turkey’s thriving contracting operations in Russia, according to the Associated Press.