Turkey's downing of a Russian jet has played into the hands of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by bringing Moscow on board with his bitter opposition to Ankara, experts say.<br />On Thursday, Moscow announced it was preparing economic measures against Ankara two days after Turkish forces shot down a Russian plane that crashed in Syrian territory.<br />Russia has already warned its nationals against visiting Turkey and stepped up controls of Turkish agricultural imports in the wake of the incident.<br />And Russia's leaders have had harsh words for Ankara, with President Vladimir Putin deeming the plane's downing a "stab in the back committed by accomplices of terrorists."<br />"The only winner from these latest developments is Assad," wrote Henri Barkey and William Pomeranz of the Woodrow Wilson International Center think tank in an article for CNN.<br />"After all, one of his regime's primary antagonists (Turkey) is now starkly at odds with his most important backer (Russia)," the experts said.
