It was not immediately clear if the pilots were Russians or Syrians.
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Carter said he is concerned about the Syrian ground offensive that began Wednesday backed by Russian airpower. He provided provided a lopsided account of the battle, saying that as many as 50 government-aligned fighters had died and that none of his forces was killed.
“We will not make any concessions in the context of our border and airspace security”, Davutoglu said.
Moscow says its air campaign was launched at the request of Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad and is targeting the Islamic State group (IS).
A Syrian official and activists said government troops pushed into areas in the central province of Hama and south of Idlib in the boldest multipronged attack on rebel-held areas, benefiting from the Russian air cover. Shoigu insisted the operation destroyed all the targets and did not launch any strikes on civilian areas.
It also marked the Russian president’s 63rd birthday, which he celebrated by playing ice hockey at the launch of a new season in Sochi while missiles targeted Syrian rebels.
Russian Federation said on Wednesday that it could implement USA proposals to coordinate its strikes with the Washington-led coalition in a bid to minimise risks.
United States and Russian officials met once by video conference late last week, before Russian incursion into the airspace of Turkey over the weekend.
After a summer of significant setbacks at the hands of Islamic State militants and other anti-government fighters, Syrian forces are expected to use Russia’s new support to push out from government-controlled areas in the western third of the country.
The Observatory said 37 Russian air raids hit on Wednesday alone.
“According to the military information we received, Russian Federation has carried out 57 air operations: 55 against [the] moderate opposition and just two against Daesh”.
Syrian state TV quoted an unidentified Syrian military official as saying Russian warplanes attacked IS positions in the towns of Al-Bab and Deir Hafer in Aleppo province.
Davis says this highlights the Pentagon’s interest in talking further to Russian officials about ways to avoid accidents and potential unintended conflict in the sky over Syria.
In Syria, the leader of a U.S.-backed rebel group, Tajammu Alezzah, confirmed the offensive in a text message to the media, claiming there were Russian and Iranian soldiers in the operation.
The Pentagon, meanwhile, said for the first time that Moscow’s still-young air campaign had caused at least one American bomber to change course in order to avoid a possible collision or conflict with a Russian aircraft.
Turkey is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member, and the alliance has responded critically to the Russian violations, saying they appeared deliberate.
Russia’s envoy to Ankara was summoned three times in response to recent incursions into Turkey’s airspace.
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“We do not want any tension with Russian Federation, but as I said, awaiting Russian Federation to pay attention to Turkey’s airspace, borders and Turkey’s interests in Syria is our most natural neighborhood right”, the Turkish PM said. But a Russian defense official said the talks should be much broader than what the Pentagon is seeking.
