Turkey announces new operation in Syria in cooperation with Saudi

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday that Ankara will start a new operation in partnership with Saudi Arabia and other countries to combat terrorism in Syria.

Speaking at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels, Belgium, Davutoglu said his country will not apologise to Russia for downing its plane which Ankara says violated its airspace last week.

“Protection of Turkish airspace, Turkish borders, is a national duty, and our army did their job,” he said. “No country can ask us to apologise.”

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would stop importing fruit and vegetable from Turkey, laying out the details of sanctions announced on Saturday in a Kremlin decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia warned that sanctions could be expanded if Turkey failed to meet Russian demands, including issuing an apology. “It’s just the first step,” Medvedev said.

During the press conference NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said: “All allies fully support Turkey’s right to defend its territorial integrity and its airspace.”

“I welcome Turkey’s efforts to establish contacts with Moscow and through its contacts with Russia, to de-escalate the situation. It is important to stay calm and to calm tensions,” he added.