Putin slams Turkey in fresh attacks over downing of Russian jet

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian President Vladimir Putin has used crude language in a furious new attack on Turkey over the downing of a Russian combat jet last month, BBC News reports.

The incident on the Syria-Turkey border was a "hostile act" but Russia was "not the country" to run away, he told his annual news conference.

He saw "no prospect" of ties improving with Turkey, which Russia has put under sanctions, under its current leaders. "The Turks", he said, had "decided to lick the Americans in a certain place".

Russia deployed its air force to Syria in September in support of President Bashar al-Assad and has been carrying out air strikes on his opponents.

Its intervention has been heavily criticized by Turkey, the U.S. and Gulf Arab states.

Putin is now into his third term as president since 2000, battling an economic crisis. Critics say civil liberties have been steadily eroded under his rule.

He remains one of the world's most recognizable politicians, and has topped the list of The World's Most Powerful People compiled by Forbes magazine for the third year running.

Putin touched on other issues at the news conference:

He denied Russian regular troops were deployed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine but said there could be "people there who were carrying out certain tasks including in the military sphere."

He predicted economic growth in Russia the new year of 0.7%, rising to 1.9% in 2017 and 2.4% in 2018, based on oil at $50 a barrel.

Putin said his country's economic crisis had peaked.

While oil prices had fallen sharply, he said, manufacturing had shown slight growth and there was a healthy trade balance in agriculture.