Russia has replaced Israel as the country that “poses the biggest threat to Turkey,” according to an opinion poll conducted by a Turkish University.
The findings follow a recent darkening of relations between Moscow and Ankara after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on the Turkish-Syrian border in November 2015, leading to the deaths of two Russian serviceman.
President Vladimir Putin labeled the incident a “stab in the back” and ordered wide-ranging economic sanctions on Turkey. Russia has intervened in the Syrian civil war on the side of President Bashar Assad, whom Turkey opposes.
The annual Survey of Social-Political Trends in Turkey by Istanbul's Kadir Has University polled 1,000 people across the county between Dec. 9 and 17. The university said the number of those who considered the United States, Syria and Israel to pose a threat to Turkey fell in 2015, though it did not give percentage figures. Israel has topped the list of threats to Turkey since 2011.