I wonder why Putin is trying to give Turkey an exit out of responsibility. Is he still trying to pull them out of the NATO fold? Or is Germany still stringing Turkey along for the possibility of an EU/EC membership?
Because Putin doesn't want to see tensions rise and have the situation go out of his control. There's nothing for him to gain by blaming Turkey or be pushed into a direct confrontation with NATO. I mean, he seems to enjoy pushing NATO & the EU's buttons. But he tends to do so when he feels like he has control over the situation.
Blaming the rebels would bolster his plans in Syria and probably make it an easier sell. Might have been best for Turkey to also allow the rebels to be blamed. The Kremlin would still get Turkey's message loud and clear, but there wouldn't be any public conflict with unpredictable consequences.
> I wonder why Putin is trying to give Turkey an exit out of responsibility.
Because doing so would allow Putin to look strong against those who did the shooting down by redoubling efforts in Syria against the rebels, while that doesn't work if Turkey is seen to be the one that did the shoot down. Putin doesn't want to give Turkey an out so much as Putin wants to give Putin an out.
Blaming the rebels would bolster his plans in Syria and probably make it an easier sell. Might have been best for Turkey to also allow the rebels to be blamed. The Kremlin would still get Turkey's message loud and clear, but there wouldn't be any public conflict with unpredictable consequences.