Putin and Erdogan at the G20 Summit in Turkey in November 2015.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s outspoken condemnation of the Islamic State group’s attacks on Paris have raised hopes that Russia could play an important role in attacking the terrorists’ bases in Syria and Iraq, while North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey’s help is key to controlling the influx of refugees.
The S-400 missile systems, which will be sent to the Hemeimeem air base in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, located just about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey, are capable of targeting Turkish jets with deadly precision. The Russian Su-24 jet downed on Tuesday was hit by missile fire from Turkish aircraft as it flew a mission over Syria near the Turkish border, where the Russian air force has been bombing rebel targets.
“Rebel fighters in the area claim they shot one of the Russian helicopters involved in the search yesterday and then used a missile to destroy it on the ground after it was forced to land”.
“Russia’s defense minister said the pilot was rescued in a 12-hour operation that ended in the early hours of the morning”.
“Hopefully, this is a moment in which all parties can step back and make a determination as to how their interests are best served”, Obama said. The Turkish military said the aircraft ignored 10 warnings to leave.
Lavrov on Wednesday said the downing of its fighter jet by Turkey appeared to be a “planned provocation” as the incident heightened tensions between Moscow and Ankara. Turkish officials say they didn’t know the plane’s country of origin until Moscow announced it was Russian.
The shooting down of the Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday was one of the most serious publicly acknowledged clashes between a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member country and Russia for half a century.
Sergey Lavrov stated that Russian Federation does not want to fight against Turkey and Russia’s treatment towards the Turkish people has not changed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry already has warned Russians against travelling to Turkey, and some leading Russian tourist agencies suspended the sales of tour packages to Turkey.
“We have no intention of escalating this incident”.
Speaking at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation economy meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan said that Turkey favours “peace, dialogue and diplomacy”.
At the same time, however, he strongly defended the shooting down of the Su-24, warning “no one should expect Turkey to stay silent to border violations or the violation of its rights”.
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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday that Russian Federation could not justify its attacks on ethnic Turks in Syria under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State, and reiterated statements by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey will continue to defend its airspace.
