Ankara, Turkey: Turkey's foreign ministry on Saturday warned that non-urgent travel to Russia should be avoided in the latest escalation of a row between Moscow and Ankara following the downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey. 

Citing problems faced by Turks in Russia in the wake of the plane incident which sparked anti-Turkish demonstrations in Moscow, the ministry said non-urgent visits to Russia should be avoided "until the situation becomes clear." 

Tuesday's incident, one of the most serious clashes between a NATO member and Russia,  sparked a crisis in relations between the two countries. 

Russia announced it was halting a visa-free regime for Turkish visitors, after threatening a raft of retaliatory economic measures to punish the NATO member state.

Turkey says the Su-24 warplane strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Russia has insisted it did not cross the border from Syria.