The Turkish government is strongly opposed to the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. If Russian Federation instead focused on fighting only ISIS, “some of those conflicts or potential for escalation are less likely to occur”.
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“We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet”, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, The AP reported.
Footage from Turkish Haberturk TV showed a warplane going down in flames in a woodland area with a long plume of smoke trailing behind it.
Plumes of smoke can be seen coming from the aircraft.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu defended Turkey’s decision to down the plane, saying on Tuesday that it was Turkey’s “national duty” to protect the country’s security.
Russian fighter jets will now accompany all of Moscow’s missions against Islamic State targets in Syria, the General Staff said.
He noted, however, the F-15s that are protecting Turkish airspace are not part of the coalition and not operating within the parameters of an agreement singed last month with Russian Federation about air safety above Syria. While Russian officials claim they have targeted only known terrorists, Turkish authorities reputedly complain that Russians are mainly targeting pro-NATO rebels. The incident sparked harsh condemnation from Russian Federation, which pledged severe consequences.
A deputy commander in a Syrian Turkmen brigade holds handles believed to be parts of a parachute of the downed Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border, Syria, November 24, 2015.
“The plane violated Turkish air space ten times in five minutes despite warnings”, the Army said in a statement, adding it was shot down “according to the rules of engagement”.
“A Russian Su-24 was downed by a Turkish F-16 fighter over the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic while returning to the Khmeimim airbase”.
Russia warned Tuesday that there would be “inevitable consequences” for Turkey after the country’s military downed a Russian plane that flew into Turkish airspace from Syria.
Asked if there was any possibility that the plane was actually shot down inside Syria, Stoltenberg said: “The allied assessments that we have are consistent with the information we have from Turkey”, he told a news conference.
Several videos circulating online and shared on opposition social media sites purported to show one of the pilots lying on the ground surrounded by rebels from different factions. “Turkey has a right to defend its airspace”.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin insists the plane was in Syrian airspace.
