In a written statement issued on Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry claims that a Russian fighter aircraft violated its airspace in the southern district of Yayladagi in the province of Hatay on Saturday.
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British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore said “Russia’s incursion into Turkish airspace is reckless and worrying”.
“I don’t believe that this was an accident”, the defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Carter spoke during a press conference here with the Spanish defense minister.
Russian Federation says the airstrikes that began Wednesday are targeting the Islamic State group and al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate, but at least a few of the strikes appear to have hit Western-backed rebel factions.
But Davutoglu warned that Turkey would enforce its rules of engagement in case of intrusions, which call for treating anyone approaching its border from Syria as an enemy.
“The aircraft in question entered Turkish airspace despite Turkish authorities’ clear, timely and repeated warnings”, it said.
‘One is to focus on training and equipment, the second one is to declare a safe zone that would be protected from terrorism, and the third is a no-fly zone, ‘ Erdogan said. “Turkey’s rules of engagement apply to all planes, be they Syrian, Russian or from elsewhere…”
The MIG-29 is a Russian-made jet fighter that the Syrian air force possesses, and Turkey said the nationality of the jet involved couldn’t be identified. The military said it did not know which country the MiG-29 belonged to.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu called Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to protest the violation of airspace.
Turkey has become a key smuggling route for thousands of refugees seeking a better life in the European Union; about 630,000 people have entered the bloc illegally this year, many of them fleeing conflict in Syria and Afghanistan. Davutoglu was also scheduled to chair a security meeting in Ankara in the evening. “Necessary steps would be taken against whoever violates Turkey’s borders, even if it’s a bird,” he said in a live interview on HaberTurk TV.
Russian officials told the Turkish embassy in Moscow the “buzzing” of Turkish territory was due to a navigational error, a Turkish official said in Ankara. “Had Turkey responded…it could have resulted in a shootdown, and it is precisely the kind of thing we warned against”, Kerry said during a visit to Chile.
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On Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Russian airstrikes were unacceptable and a grave mistake that could alienate Moscow in the region.
