Russia strikes back at Turkey with economic sanctions

MOSCOW -- Russia plans to retaliate against Turkey for the downing of a warplane by imposing sanctions, cutting economic ties and scrapping major investment projects.

Since the plane was shot down Tuesday in disputed circumstances on the Syria-Turkey border, Russia has restricted tourism, left Turkish trucks stranded at the border and announced the confiscation of large quantities of Turkish food imports.

Today, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (dih-MEE'-tree med-VYEH'-dyev) ordered his government to draft sanctions against Turkey within the next two days.

The sanctions are to include restrictions on deliveries of food and other products as well as labor and services.

Russia is the largest destination for Turkey's exports, and the two countries are bound by plans for a new gas pipeline and strong trade in food and tourism.

Turkey's beach resorts are a big draw for Russians, but the Russian foreign ministry has warned against all travel there and leading Russian travel agencies have stopped selling tours to Turkey.

Overall, the nosedive in relations threatens billions of dollars of international trade.