President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman on Tuesday called the downing of a Russian Su-24 warplane in Syria a “very serious incident”, but said it was too early to draw conclusions.
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“It is just impossible to say something without having full information”, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, told reporters.
Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border on Tuesday after repeatedly warning it over air space violations, Turkish officials said, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left Syrian air space.
“A Russian Su-24 plane was downed under the rules of engagement because it violated the Turkish airspace despite the warnings”, the Turkish presidency said.
The Russian plane was supporting Syrian troops which have been on the offensive in an area controlled by several insurgent groups including al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division and the 10th Coast Division that includes local Turkmen fighters.
Sarah Lain, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, said the last time she could remember a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member country -the United States – shooting down a Russian/Soviet plane was the 1950s. “The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight”.
Reports said two pilots had ejected from the plane and Turkish television pictures showed two white parachutes descending to the ground.
Three Russian journalists working in Syria suffered minor injuries when a missile landed near their auto on Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
Footage from private Turkish broadcaster Haberturk TV showed the warplane going down in flames in a woodland area, a long plume of smoke trailing behind it. The plane went down in area known by Turks as “Turkmen Mountain”, it said.
Russian Federation however insists that the air campaign is aimed against Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
Both Russian Federation and its ally, Govt of Syria have initiated many strikes in the area.
Amid fears of a diplomatic crisis, key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey said it would take the issue to the United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said nothing about the incident at a ceremony approving the list a new cabinet members.
Turkish officials released what they said was the radar image of the path the Russian plane took, showing it flying across a stretch of Turkish territory in Turkey’s southern-most tip, in the region of Yayladag, in Hatay province.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to visit Turkey on Wednesday in a bid to smooth ties and find a joint approach to finding peace in Syria.
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The Turkish military in October also shot down a Russian-made drone that had entered its airspace. “And they violated it knowingly”, the official said.
