Special to WorldTribune.com

Russian President Valdimir Putin on Nov. 25 said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pursuit of “Islamization” is a major problem in the region.

A day after Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24, Putin said “the problem is not the tragedy we witnessed yesterday,” according to the TASS news agency.

“The problem is much deeper. We observe … that the current Turkish leadership over a significant number of years has been pursuing a deliberate policy of supporting the ‘Islamization’ of their country.”

Erdogan insisted on Nov. 24 that the Russian plane violated Turkish air space and that Ankara had the right to protect its borders.

“Despite being warned 10 times in five minutes because it was coming towards our border, it insisted on continuing its violation. This plane was downed in an intervention by our F-16s,” Erdogan said, adding that shooting down the Russian jet was fully in line with Turkey’s rules of engagement.

Erdogan also spoke with U.S. President Barack Obama, a NATO ally, after the incident and Obama expressed “U.S. and NATO support for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty,” the White House said in a statement.

“The leaders agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” the statement said.

Putin said Moscow would deploy an S-300 air defense system to Russia’s air base in Syria, Interfax and other agencies reported.

While one of the pilots of the Su-24 was confirmed dead, Russia’s Defense Ministry said that the second pilot was safe and had returned to the base in Syria.

  Putin: Turkey leader’s policy of ‘deliberate Islamization’ is a problem, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, WorldTribune.com