'Allah is punishing' Turkey's rulers: Putin

With the war of words between the two nations escalating since the downing of the Russian jet by Turkey, President Vladimir Putin hit out at the Turkish leadership saying, that 'Allah' was punishing their leaders by stripping off their 'sanity' and depriving them of 'intelligence'.

According to the Washington Post, Putin made the statement while delivering his annual state of the union address in Russia.

"Only Allah knows why they did it, and I guess Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by stripping it of its sanity," Putin said about the downing of the jet in an hour-long address to Russian lawmakers and other public figures.

Putin had earlier alleged that Islamisation had been 'creeping' in under the nose of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"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," Putin had said.

But Putin has also made efforts to reach out Russia's major population of around 20 million Muslims.

"We ourselves support Islam and will continue doing so, but the point at issue is the support of a more radical branch," Putin said last week.