Foreign Minister Lavrov says Russians should not travel to Turkey for any reason

Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, announced today that Russians should avoid travel to Turkey, warning that the risk of terrorist attacks there is no lower than in Egypt, with whom Moscow has suspended all air traffic. 

"The critical mass of terrorist activities on Turkish territory, in our estimation, is no less than in Egypt," Lavrov told reporters in Sochi. "In this regard, of course, we don't recommend that any of our citizens travel to Turkey right now for tourism or any other purpose."

Lavrov also announced that Moscow has canceled a meeting in Istanbul, scheduled for Wednesday, November 25, between Russia's and Turkey's foreign ministers. Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart were expected to discuss joint strategic planning.

Earlier on November 24, two Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian plane "within the rules of engagement" after it violated Turkish airspace 10 times within a five-minute period, according to Ankara.
Vladimir Putin told reporters that Turkey had no reason to shoot down the Sukhoi Su-24, saying the aircraft presented no threat to Turkey. Putin said Russia's jet was attacked one kilometer from the Turkish border, and crashed four kilometers away from the border. He promised "serious consequences" for Russian-Turkish relations.