Russia Says It Could Have Gone to War After Turkey Shot Down Plane

Russia Says It Could Have Gone to War After Turkey Shot Down Plane
This frame grab from video by Haberturk TV, shows a Russian warplane on fire before crashing on a hill as seen from Hatay province, Turkey, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. Haberturk TV via AP
Zachary Stieber
Updated:

The Russian prime minister said that Russia had grounds to go to war after Turkey shot down a Russian plane last month. 

“What did 20th-century countries used to do in a similar situation? A war began,” Dmitry Medvedev said on the ‘Talk to the Prime Minister” TV program, according to state-affiliated Russia Today.

Medvedev said Turkey “violated the norms of the international law,” giving Russia ample grounds to go to war if that’s the route the country’s top officials wanted to take.

But they didn’t, so no war was fought. 

“That was a direct assault on a foreign state. In the present situation a war is the worst what could happen. That’s why a decision was taken not to give a symmetrical answer to what the Turks had done,” the PM explained.

However, Russia had to do something to punish Turkey for the action. 

“Yet we had to make them understand they’re going to hold responsibility for their actions. Exactly for that reason and for the safety of our citizens the relevant decisions were taken,” Medvedev said regarding sanctions Russia has introduced against Turkey.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, gives his annual state of the nation address in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. Putin called Thursday for a broad international front against terrorism and accused Turkey of trading oil with the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, gives his annual state of the nation address in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015. Putin called Thursday for a broad international front against terrorism and accused Turkey of trading oil with the Islamic State group. AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev
Zachary Stieber
Zachary Stieber
Senior Reporter
Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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