Russia-Turkey tension: How Putin acts in a crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin is hard to predict when a crisis strikes.

He was quick to express fury at Turkey for downing a Russian bomber on 24 November - the latest escalation in the Syria crisis.

But sometimes he bides his time and reacts to difficult situations in quite unexpected ways.

Just hours after the Su-24 bomber was downed Mr Putin said at a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah that it had been a "stab in the back", delivered by the "accomplices of terrorists". He also warned of "serious consequences" for Moscow's relations with Ankara.

Mr Putin's rhetoric was explosive, but delivered with what seemed at times to be conscious restraint.