Russia has rejected Turkey’s claims that it did not know the plane it shot down on the Syria border was Russian

Russia has rejected Turkey’s claims that it did not know the plane it shot down on the Syria border was Russian

President Vladimir Putin said Russian planes were easily identifiable and the jet’s flight co-ordinates had been passed on to Turkey’s ally, the US

Turkey’s president said earlier if it had known the plane was Russian "maybe we would have warned it differently"

Mr Putin was speaking after meeting his French counterpart and pledging closer co-operation against Islamic State.IS claimed the 13 November attacks in Paris which killed 130 people

Russia and France have agreed to co-operate more closely in fighting terrorism in Syria. The two countries will exchange intelligence on Islamic State - and co-ordinate air strikes

But differences remain over the fate of the Syrian leader. President Hollande made it clear that Bashar al-Assad could play no role in his country’s future. President Putin said that was up to the Syrian people to decide

And there is no sign of the kind of "grand coalition" against terror that France had been calling for, one that would include America.Speaking at a news conference after the talks, President Putin even suggested that Turkey had shot down the Russian bomber this week after receiving information about its location from the US

Two Russian servicemen died after the Russian SU-24 plane crashed into a mountainside on Syrian soil on Tuesday after being hit by a missile from a Turkish F-16 fighter jet.The Turkish military said it sent several warnings to the jet before firing, some 17 seconds after the plane entered Turkish air space

A surviving Russian pilot said he had received no such warning and was adamant they did not stray out of Syrian air space.Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected calls by Russia to apologise, saying Turkey does not need to say sorry for the violation of its airspace

However, he told France 24 television: "If we had known it was a Russian plane, maybe we would have warned it differently"

But Mr Putin insisted it was "impossible" for Turkey not to have known it was shooting at a Russian plane. "It’s got insignia, and you can see that.He went on: "In advance, in accordance with our agreement with the US, we gave information on where our planes would be working - at what altitude, and in what areas. Turkey is part of that coalition and they had to know it was the Russian airforce working in that area

Mr Putin told the news conference he was ready to co-operate more closely with the US-led coalition "but of course incidents like the destruction of our aircraft and the deaths of our servicemen... are absolutely unacceptable"

Earlier on Thursday, Russia’s military suspended all communication channels with the Turkish military, including a "hot line" to help avoid air accidents

Russia’s prime minister also warned the government was planning wide-ranging economic sanctions against Turkey within the coming days.He warned that food products, Turkish interests in Russia and a number of joint investment projects could be affected

Russia has also advised its nationals against visiting Turkey, and urged those already there to return home "due to the terrorist threats that remain on Turkish territory"

Turkey and Russia have important economic links. Russia is Turkey’s second largest trading partner, while Turkey is the biggest foreign destination for Russian tourists