Turkish-Russian relations, already tense due to Moscow’s military engagement in Syria to aid the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, took a dangerous turn Nov. 24 when a Russian SU-24 fighter jet was shot down by the Turkish military. Ankara said the plane had violated Turkey’s airspace, a claim that Russia is rejecting.

The incident follows angry statements in recent days from Ankara aimed at Russia for hitting targets north of Latakia, in regions surrounding Turkmen Mountain, where Turkmen fighters armed and supported by Turkey are fighting the Syrian army, supported by Russian fighter jets.

A fuming Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ankara after the downing of the jet that there would be “significant consequences,” signaling that the tone of Turkish-Russian ties will be changing radically.

"The loss today is a stab in the back, carried out by the accomplices of terrorists. I can’t describe it in any other way. Our aircraft was downed over the territory of Syria using an air-to-air missile from a Turkish F-16. It fell on Syrian territory 4 kilometers [2.5 miles] from Turkey,” Putin told reporters in Sochi while waiting for King Abdullah II of Jordan.