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Turkey takes a hit from the Russian hammer

Moscow is bringing its hammer down on Ankara following Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane late last month, crushing Erdogan’s aspirations for autonomy from the West in foreign and security policy.
Defence ministry officials sit under screens with satellite images on display during a briefing in Moscow, Russia, December 2, 2015. Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday it had proof that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his family were benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Islamic State-held territory in Syria and Iraq.  REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTX1WTWJ

The conflict between Russia and Turkey that was sparked by Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet on Nov. 24 is too serious to be treated in any sense of sarcasm and with emotional outbursts.

On Dec. 3, delivering his state of the nation address, Vladimir Putin voiced his anger and accused his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish leadership.

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