Turkey and Russia in war of words over downed jet - Rawan For Media Artistic and Production
NATO urges a de-escalation in tensions between Ankara and Moscow after Turkey shoots down Russian warplane
Turkey,
Russia and their respective allies have entered a war of words about
the downing of a Russian warplane near the Turkey-Syria border - raising
tensions in a region struggling to cope with the ongoing Syrian
conflict.
The
Russian Sukhoi Su-24 warplane was shot down for violating Turkish
airspace on Tuesday morning, Turkish officials said, angering Russia's
President Vladimir Putin, who likened the incident to being "stabbed in
the back".
The plane crashed in Syrian territory in Latakia's Yamadi village.
"Today's
loss is linked to a stab in the back delivered to us by accomplices of
terrorists. I cannot qualify what happened today as anything else," a
visibly angry Putin said in televised comments.
ANALYSIS: Downing of Russian jet hardly a surprise
"Our
plane was shot down over the territory of Syria by an air-to-air
missile from a Turkish F-16 jet. It fell in Syrian territory four
kilometres from the border with Turkey. Our pilots and our plane did not
in any way threaten Turkey."
Russia
has been carrying out air strikes in Syria since September, saying it
is targeting ISIL and al-Nusra Front. The Syrian opposition and Western
powers, however, say the Russian strikes have mainly targeted rebel
groups fighting the Syrian regime - an ally of Moscow.
Putin also sharply criticised Turkey for establishing contact with NATO to discuss the incident, prior to contacting Moscow.
"Instead
of immediately establishing contacts with us, as far as we know Turkey
turned to its NATO partners to discuss this incident - as if we had hit
their plane and not the other way around," he said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, however, said Turkey had a duty to act against anyone violating its borders.
Putin: Turkey's downing of jet a 'stab in the back'
"Everyone
must know that it is our international right and national duty to take
any measure against whoever violates our air or land borders," Davutoglu
said in Ankara.
"Turkey will not hesitate to take all steps to protect the country's security."
Following
the incident on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry announced that it is
suspending its military cooperation with Turkey and Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov cancelled a planned trip to Turkey on Wednesday.
Russia
also warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey, saying it was unsafe,
and deployed a warship to the coastline near where the plane crashed.
While
NATO - of which Turkey is a member - called for the two nations to show
restraint, the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, "We
stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of
our NATO ally."
Fellow NATO member, the United States, also backed Turkey's right to defend its territory.
President
Barack Obama said while the US did not have enough information to form
conclusions about the incident, similar confrontations could be avoided
if Russia stopped attacking "moderate" Syrian rebels who are battling
forces loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
"This
points to an ongoing problem with the Russian operations in the sense
that they are operating very close to a Turkish border and they are
going after moderate opposition that are supported by not only Turkey
but a wide range of countries," Obama said.
Meanwhile,
the Syrian government backed its key ally Russia, with a military
official telling the state SANA news agency that by shooting down the
Russian plane, Turkey had committed "a gross violation of Syrian
sovereignty".
"The
desperate acts of aggression will only increase our determination to
continue the war against the terrorist organisations with the support
and help of Syria's friends, mainly Russia," the official said.
BLOG: Turkey downs Russian jet near Syria border
A
major point of contention is whether the Russian jet crossed into
Turkish airspace, with the two nations releasing their own satellite
images showing conflicting views of the jet's final flight path.
A
Turkish military statement said the plane violated Turkish airspace in
Hatay province and was warned "10 times in five minutes" before being
shot down at 9:24am local time.
A
US official told Al Jazeera that the penetration of Turkish airspace by
the Russian jet lasted "only a matter of seconds" as it crossed a
roughly 3km wide section of Turkey that took only 20 seconds to
traverse.
Russia, however, vehemently denied that its plane ever crossed into Turkish airspace.
Pilots' fate
Rebel
forces told Al Jazeera the bodies of both Russian pilots were recovered
after the crash, but Russia's military said only one pilot was killed.
Moscow has not yet said what happened to the second pilot.
A
Russian helicopter was also shot at as it took part in the search for
the two pilots near the Turkish-Syrian border, opposition groups in
Syria said.
Russia
confirmed that one of the helicopter's crew members was shot dead in
the incident and that the other crew members were "evacuated" after
making an emergency landing.
The alleged violation by the Russian warplane, according to Turkish authorities
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Turkey,
Russia and their respective allies have entered a war of words about
the downing of a Russian warplane near the Turkey-Syria border - raising
tensions in a region struggling to cope with the ongoing Syrian
conflict.
The
Russian Sukhoi Su-24 warplane was shot down for violating Turkish
airspace on Tuesday morning, Turkish officials said, angering Russia's
President Vladimir Putin, who likened the incident to being "stabbed in
the back".
The plane crashed in Syrian territory in Latakia's Yamadi village.
"Today's
loss is linked to a stab in the back delivered to us by accomplices of
terrorists. I cannot qualify what happened today as anything else," a
visibly angry Putin said in televised comments.
ANALYSIS: Downing of Russian jet hardly a surprise
"Our
plane was shot down over the territory of Syria by an air-to-air
missile from a Turkish F-16 jet. It fell in Syrian territory four
kilometres from the border with Turkey. Our pilots and our plane did not
in any way threaten Turkey."
Russia
has been carrying out air strikes in Syria since September, saying it
is targeting ISIL and al-Nusra Front. The Syrian opposition and Western
powers, however, say the Russian strikes have mainly targeted rebel
groups fighting the Syrian regime - an ally of Moscow.
Putin also sharply criticised Turkey for establishing contact with NATO to discuss the incident, prior to contacting Moscow.
"Instead
of immediately establishing contacts with us, as far as we know Turkey
turned to its NATO partners to discuss this incident - as if we had hit
their plane and not the other way around," he said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, however, said Turkey had a duty to act against anyone violating its borders.
Putin: Turkey's downing of jet a 'stab in the back'
"Everyone
must know that it is our international right and national duty to take
any measure against whoever violates our air or land borders," Davutoglu
said in Ankara.
"Turkey will not hesitate to take all steps to protect the country's security."
Following
the incident on Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry announced that it is
suspending its military cooperation with Turkey and Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov cancelled a planned trip to Turkey on Wednesday.
Russia
also warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey, saying it was unsafe,
and deployed a warship to the coastline near where the plane crashed.
While
NATO - of which Turkey is a member - called for the two nations to show
restraint, the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, "We
stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of
our NATO ally."
Fellow NATO member, the United States, also backed Turkey's right to defend its territory.
President
Barack Obama said while the US did not have enough information to form
conclusions about the incident, similar confrontations could be avoided
if Russia stopped attacking "moderate" Syrian rebels who are battling
forces loyal to the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
"This
points to an ongoing problem with the Russian operations in the sense
that they are operating very close to a Turkish border and they are
going after moderate opposition that are supported by not only Turkey
but a wide range of countries," Obama said.
Meanwhile,
the Syrian government backed its key ally Russia, with a military
official telling the state SANA news agency that by shooting down the
Russian plane, Turkey had committed "a gross violation of Syrian
sovereignty".
"The
desperate acts of aggression will only increase our determination to
continue the war against the terrorist organisations with the support
and help of Syria's friends, mainly Russia," the official said.
BLOG: Turkey downs Russian jet near Syria border
A
major point of contention is whether the Russian jet crossed into
Turkish airspace, with the two nations releasing their own satellite
images showing conflicting views of the jet's final flight path.
A
Turkish military statement said the plane violated Turkish airspace in
Hatay province and was warned "10 times in five minutes" before being
shot down at 9:24am local time.
A
US official told Al Jazeera that the penetration of Turkish airspace by
the Russian jet lasted "only a matter of seconds" as it crossed a
roughly 3km wide section of Turkey that took only 20 seconds to
traverse.
Russia, however, vehemently denied that its plane ever crossed into Turkish airspace.
Pilots' fate
Rebel
forces told Al Jazeera the bodies of both Russian pilots were recovered
after the crash, but Russia's military said only one pilot was killed.
Moscow has not yet said what happened to the second pilot.
A
Russian helicopter was also shot at as it took part in the search for
the two pilots near the Turkish-Syrian border, opposition groups in
Syria said.
Russia
confirmed that one of the helicopter's crew members was shot dead in
the incident and that the other crew members were "evacuated" after
making an emergency landing.
The alleged violation by the Russian warplane, according to Turkish authorities
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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