Turkish Airlines removed two Russian women from a flight to Bahrain at Atatürk Airport on January 10 due to “unruly behavior.”
Passengers aboard the plane “complained” about the two women, “who continued to allegedly misbehave despite warnings from the cabin crew.” Police removed the women from the plane.
The officials stated the women will “be sent to Moscow soon.”
The relationship between Russia and Turkey escalated after Turkish forces shot down a Russian warplane on November 24. The counties throw around accusations from buying Islamic State oil to hacking websites.
Only a few days after the attack, Russian President Vladimir Putin first claimed his government held proof of Turkey’s involvement in the ISIS oil trade.
“At the moment we have received additional information confirming that that oil from the deposits controlled by Islamic State militants enters Turkish territory on industrial scale,” stated Putin. “We have every reason to believe that the decision to down our plane was guided by a desire to ensure security of this oil’s delivery routes to ports where they are shipped in tankers.”
Erdoğan denied the accusations, even offering to resign if Putin provided proof.
“As soon as such a claim is proved, the nobility of our nation requires [me] to do this,” he said at the Paris climate change summit. “I will not remain in this post. But I am asking Mr. Putin, would you remain?”
The Russian Defense Ministry published alleged proof that Erdogan has ties to ISIS oil. Officials claimed the satellite image set “shows columns of tanker trucks loading with oil at an installation controlled by Isis in Syria, before crossing the border into Turkey.”
Erdoğan then claimed he possessed evidence that Russia purchased oil from the Islamic State.
“We have the proof in our hands. We will reveal it to the world,” he declared on television.
Erdoğan pointed the finger at Syrian businessman George Haswani and “a famous Russian chess player” without revealing the name.
“Who buys oil from Daesh? Let me say it. George Haswani, holder of a Russian passport and a Syrian national, is one of the biggest merchants in this business,” Erdoğan said.
Putin also passed numerous economic sanctions against Turkey due to “national security” concerns and to protect “the national interests of the Russian Federation.” Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that the many joint projects between the two countries could be in danger only two days after the Turkish military shot down the Russian plane. The Turkish government “commissioned Russia’s state-owned Rosatom in 2013 to build four 1,200-megawatt reactors in a project worth $20 billion.” The TurkStream pipeline project could be affected, as well, a project intended as a way to transport natural gas to Europe without going through Ukraine.
Some Turkish citizens claimed Russian hackers attacked Turkish websites the week of Christmas. But Turkish media outlets admitted there was not concrete evidence against the hackers.