Turkey says not acting aggressively with Moscow after downing Russian jet

Ankara said on Wednesday that it is not acting in an aggressive way toward Moscow, amid tense relations between the two countries following Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet last month.

"The Russian military has been acting for some time as if there is a perceived threat from Turkey to them, which is an exaggerated situation and has nothing to do with reality," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic told a press conference.

He also vowed that Turkey would not shoot down any more Russian warplanes if they stop violating Turkish airspace.

"If the Russian Federation also guarantees that there will not be any airspace violations, a similar incident will not happen again," Bilgic said in an apparent response to remarks by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov.

Earlier in the day, Meshkov said that Turkey should guarantee that a similar incident will not happen in the future.

The Turkish spokesman also rejected Meshkov's call for Turkey to pay compensation for downing the Russian military plane.

"The Russian airplane was shot down because it violated our airspace," Bilgic said. "Meeting the Russian side's demands is not possible."

Ties between Ankara and Moscow have soured after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet on Nov. 24 near the border, saying that it violated Turkish airspace.

However, Moscow vehemently denied the claim and insisted that the Su-24 fighter jet stayed over Syria during its flight.

Meanwhile, Turkish local media reported on Wednesday that Ankara has seized a total of 27 Russian ships since the downing of the plane in a retaliatory move.

Russia has also seized eight commercial Turkish ships in the Black Sea and held five Turkish vessels for inspections at the port of Novorossiysk in early December, according to local media. Endit