Five former Soviet countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) said Tuesday they stand with Russia concerning the downing of its jet by Turkey and expressed their support.
Russian investigators announced their failure to retrieve any information from the black box of the Russian fighter jet that violated Turkish airspace before being shot down. While the Kremlin was sure that any information would back its claims that there had been no airspace violation, many assumed its failure to do so would result in a statement similar to the one released on Monday. In the meeting of the CIS's Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who also holds the term presidency of the organization, said, "We support Moscow's position as Russia's allies on this issue."
He also claimed that Turkey "undermines" the international community's efforts to put an end to the civil war in Syria.
Along with Russia and Armenia, former Soviet countries Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are the other members of the CIS, while Serbia and Afghanistan have observer country status.
Amid the repercussions of Turkey's shooting down a Russian jet on Nov. 24 over violating its airspace, discussion of the crisis found itself on the agenda for the meeting, which some perceive as Moscow sharpening its focus on countries from the former Soviet Union. Previously, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Russian President Vladimir Putin was making statements that were "null" for him in a "childish" way that shows his "Soviet" mindset. He said: "I guess Putin thinks he is in the days of the KGB. The world mockingly smiles at the statements he makes." "No one believes the lies of the Soviet propaganda machine," he said, describing them as like the lies found in the Pravda daily that aimed to cover up their problems with their neighbors.
Following Turkey's downing the Russian jet, something that Moscow has never experienced before, records show that violating other countries' airspace is very common for the country. Putin quickly imposed trade sanctions, canceled visa-free travel for Turkish citizens and deported Turkish citizens who arrived in Russia. This attitude was described by Turkish leaders as "emotional" and not the response of a mature leader. The Russian military later distributed satellite images and accused Turkey of buying oil from DAESH. Iraqi Kurdish officials, however, quickly refuted the accusations and said they were trucks from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) carrying oil to Turkey.
