Putin calls Turkey's downing of Russian jet a 'stab in the back'

Vladimir Putin
(Image credit: MAXIM SHIPENKOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Tuesday that Russia's relations with Turkey would face "significant consequences" after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near its border with Syria. "The loss today is a stab in the back, carried out by the accomplices of terrorists," Putin said at a press conference. "I can't describe it in any other way." Putin also maintained that the plane was not a threat to Turkey, saying it was downed four kilometers from the Turkish border in Syrian territory; Turkey says the Russian fighter jet violated its airspace.

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