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The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Turkey’s downing of the Russian jet fighter last month was “a reason to start war” as his government announced it was analyzing the black box from the warplane.
“What did 20th-Century countries use to do in a similar situation? A war began,” Medvedev said during a Russian TV program. He added that Ankara had “violated the norms of the international law,” giving Russia what in international judicial language is called a reason to start a war. Moscow, however, chose not to respond symmetrically, Medvedev concluded.
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#Russia's MoD will invite foreign experts to be present at the opening of the black box of the jet downed by Turkey. pic.twitter.com/zN5Iu78VRZ
— Haidar Sumeri (@IraqiSecurity)
December 9, 201
His comments come as Moscow said international specialists will be analyzing the black box of the Russian jet downed by Turkey. “I ask you not to open it for the time being,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
“Open it only together with foreign experts, carefully determine everything,” Putin added as Shoigu handed him the black box, according to Russian news agencies reported late Tuesday.
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Shoigu stressed that the territory where the Russian jet was shot down had been “liberated” by Syrian special forces, allowing them to recover the black box from what had been a rebel-held area.
While, an analysis of the black box would help determine the downed jet’s flight path and position, Putin said “Whatever we learn (from the black box) won’t change our attitude to what the Turkish authorities did.”
Russia got “black box” of Su-24 downed by Turk.,analysis with intl experts to establish its position when shot down pic.twitter.com/AR4sEKLMRg
— Alexander Yakovenko (@Amb_Yakovenko)
December 9, 201
He added that Russia used to see Turkey as a friend and ally “and nobody expected this low, treacherous stab in the back.”
The Russian government has already taken several steps against Turkey in retaliation against the downing of its warplane. Less than a week after the incident, Putin signed a decree approving economic sanctions against Ankara that would halt imports from Turkey, suspend flights between the two nations and crack down on Turkish businesses in Russia.
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Medvedev, however, said Wednesday that Russia’s response measures toward Turkey were not sanctions but a “protective reaction” of the Russian state in order to ensure the “safety of our citizens.”
Russia accuses Turkey of downing the Russian fighter jet in order to protect its oil trade business with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, which Turkish officials flatly deny.
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Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry showed what it called proof that the Turkish political elite, including the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and some of his relatives, were involved in “criminal activities” and oil dealing with the extremist group.
WATCH: Syria: Russia Denies Turkish Version of Where Plane was Downed
