Transatlantic TakeWASHINGTON—It was “a stab in the back,” Russian President Vladimir Putin declared. Turkey’s shooting down of the Russian jet over Turkish airspace in late November sparked angry denunciations from Moscow. But rather than “stab in the back,” the more relevant bodily metaphor is “shot in the foot.” For both Russia and Turkey, the spat over the downed plane — and about Syria more generally — is imposing painful economic costs.
Russia’s trade sanctions on Turkey, which were announced after the bomber was shot down, formally took force on January 1. They target several sectors of the Turkish economy, banning Russian …read more