ERR in Moscow: Turkey is Russia's current enemy
ERR's Moscow correspondent Neeme Raud said Russian media has taken a harsh stance against Turkey and many politicians demand all relations to be cut after Turkey shot down a Russian military aircraft on Tuesday, after it had been warned 10 times for airspace violations.
Raud said Russian media is echoing President Vladimir Putin's words that Russia was stabbed in the back. No other viewpoints are being published, Raud said.
“We talked to a few terrorism experts – the general opinion is that Russia is the victim and the Russian jet was in Turkish airspace only for a few minutes […]” Raud said, adding that Russia has admitted to violating Turkish airspace.
Russian media is reporting that Turkish President Recep Erdoğan's son is in the petrol business and is trading with the Islamic State.
Raud said local experts do not forecast a war and many are looking at the United States for a reaction. ”To be honest, the moods in Moscow are confusing,” Raud added.
“Russia is a big partner to Turkey when it comes to tourism and in a situation where there are import bans on EU goods, a lot of fruit and vegetable are imported from Turkey. So, relations with Turkey are very important for Russia. But Russian media has emphasized in the last 24 hours that relations are practically non-existent now. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russians should not travel to Turkey,” Raud said, adding that currently, Turkey is seen as an enemy.
The topic could also arise tomorrow, when new Estonian ambassador to Moscow, Arti Hilpus, presents his credentials to Putin.
Editor: J.M. Laats