At the same time, the Russian leader harshly criticized the U.S. for the failure to prevent its NATO ally Turkey from shooting down the Russian military jet Tuesday at the border with Syria.
Turkey said it shot down the Russian Su-24 bomber after it flew into its airspace for 17 seconds despite repeated warnings.
Putin dismissed the Turkish claim and held the U.S. responsible for failing to rein in its ally, saying that Russia had informed the U.S. about its military flights in advance in line with a recent agreement between Moscow and Washington aimed at preventing clashes between their aircraft.
As the leader of the anti-IS coalition, the U.S. should have made sure that the Russian warplanes aren’t targeted by its members, Putin said.
“We proceed from the assumption that it will never happen again,” he said. “Otherwise we don’t need any such cooperation with any country.”
He denounced the Turkish action, saying it “thoughtlessly and rudely” destroyed friendly ties between the two countries.
