(REUTERS) President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing a raft of punitive economic sanctions against Turkey on Saturday, underlining the depth of the Kremlin’s anger toward Ankara four days after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane.

The decree, which entered into force immediately, said charter flights from Russia to Turkey would be banned, that tour firms would be told not to sell any holidays there, and that unspecified Turkish imports would be outlawed, and Turkish firms and nationals have their economic activities halted or curbed.

“The circumstances are unprecedented. The gauntlet thrown down to Russia is unprecedented. So naturally the reaction is in line with this threat,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said hours before the decree was published.

A senior Turkish official told Reuters the sanctions would only worsen the standoff between Moscow and Ankara. (read more)

Anyone who has followed Russia in the past 7+ years of Obama, knows Vladimir Putin is merely taking off his cufflinks at this point. When Putin gets around to rolling up his sleeves – then watch out.

Meanwhile Obama suggests Erdogan should close the porous border with Syria…. and then things get funny:

Washington DC – The U.S. wants Turkey to seal off a 60-mile stretch of its border with Syria in hopes of blocking the Islamic State (ISIS) from moving in foreign fighters, a move that Pentagon officials estimate could take as many as 30,000 soldiers.

Turkey has agreed that it needs to tighten the border, and doesn’t think it will take as many troops, reports The Wall Street Journal, but has demands of its own, including support for a safe zone in Syria, which the Obama administration has rejected.

Further, Turkey points out that Washington has not been able to seal the U.S./Mexico border, a statement that angered U.S. officials.

“If we were at war with Mexico, we’d close that border,” a senior official responded to that line of argument.

Turkey also wants more financial help from Europe for dealing with the 2.2 million refugees that have come across the border.

Instead, U.S. officials believe increasing Turkey’s deployment at its border would be the best way to close off the transit routes. Meanwhile, the United States wants to launch airstrikes in Syria, but has been slowed by Russia’s own airstrikes. (read more)