Russia ready to give helping hand to any partner: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a live broadcast nationwide call-in in Moscow, Russia, April 14, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his country is ready to lend a helping hand to any partner in difficulty.

When asked by a 12-year-old during his annual live phone-in whom he would choose to save first if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko were both drowning, Putin said his country would like to help any partner.

He added that it is impossible to save those who choose to drown.

Commenting on relations with Turkey, Putin said Moscow has been viewing Turkey and its people as friends, but some politicians in Ankara seem not to do enough on their part.

He also blasted the Turkish government for "cooperating" with extremists, rather than fighting them.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara nosedived after the latter downed a Russian warplane along the Syrian border in November 2015. Turkey said the plane violated its airspace while Russia denied the charge.

Moscow slapped a bunch of sanctions against Turkey after the incident and accused Ankara of being involved in illegal oil trade with the Islamic State militant group. Turkey denied the claim.