Russian Su-24 Jet Attack: Moscow Announces Restrictions On Imports From Turkey, Report Says

UPDATE: 6:04 a.m. EST -- Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Turkey of deliberately trying to bring relations between Moscow and Ankara to a “dead end,” Reuters reported Thursday.

Putin also reportedly said that the Kremlin was still waiting for an apology from Turkey for shooting down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border Tuesday.

"We still have not heard any articulate apologies from Turkey's highest political level nor any proposals to compensate for the harm and damage, nor promises to punish criminals responsible for their crimes," Agence France-Presse quoted Putin as saying.

UPDATE: 2:40 a.m. EST -- Russia announced Thursday that it will impose restrictions on Turkish food being imported into the country amid tensions over the downing of a Russian warplane earlier in the week, according to reports.

"Taking into account repeated violations by Turkish producers of Russian norms, the Russian government has tasked (food safety agency) Rosselkhoznadzor to reinforce control over supplies of agricultural produce and food from Turkey, as well as organise additional checks on the border and production sites in the Republic of Turkey," Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said in a statement, according to Agence France-Presse.

Original story:

Russia is expected to announce a restriction on imports from Turkey on Thursday in response to the downing of a Russian warplane, according to a report. But Moscow will not impose an embargo, a government source told Russian daily Kommersant.

The source told the newspaper that the Kremlin was working on measures to limit Russia’s imports from Turkey. "In the near future Russia will restrict product supplies from Turkey -- already today [Thursday] a relevant official announcement could be made," Kommersant reported, quoting the government source, according to Sputnik News.

The report comes a day after Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced Wednesday that it was ceasing imports of poultry from a Turkish company after it detected a harmful bacteria in the raw food. Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Aleksey Alekseenko told Reuters that it was “too early” to say whether it would suspend all Turkish poultry products and the “top political leadership” will decide on the matter soon.

Also on Wednesday, Moscow said it was sending S-400 anti-aircraft missiles to its Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia after Turkey shot down the Russian warplane. The range of the S-400 missiles is about 250 miles and the move has the United States concerned.

"It's a capable weapons system that poses a significant threat to anyone," a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Agence France-Presse. "There are significant concerns related to air operations in Syria," the official added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Tuesday’s downing of the Su-24M fighter jet a “stab in the back” and termed Turkey “accomplices of terrorists.”

"We will analyze everything, and today’s tragic event will have significant consequences, including for Russia-Turkish relations," Putin said Tuesday. "We have always treated Turkey as a friendly state," he added.

On Tuesday, Ankara said it downed the jet after Russia ignored repeated warnings of violating Turkish airspace -- a claim denied by the surviving pilot of the warplane. Cpt. Konstantin Murakhtin said Wednesday that Turkey did not issue warnings there was “no way” the fighter plane could have violated Turkish airspace.

Murakhtin was rescued after a 12-hour operation by Russian and Syrian special forces, according to Russian officials. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Syrian army picked up Murakhtin and brought him to the airbase safely.