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Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspace Turkey says Russian warplane violated its airspace
(35 minutes later)
A Russian warplane violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border on Saturday, prompting the air force to scramble two F-16 jets to intercept it, the Turkish foreign ministry has said. Turkey says its military intercepted a Russian fighter plane that had violated the country’s airspace while apparently flying a sortie over Syria – an incident that risked further inflaming tensions days after Russia’s military intervention began.
The foreign ministry summoned Moscow’s ambassador to protest against the violation, according to a statement. Turkey urged Russia to avoid repeating such a violation, or it would be held “responsible for any undesired incident that may occur“. Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs said two F-16 fighter jets intercepted the Russian plane while it was flying south of Hatay, a province that borders Syria, on Saturday.
The foreign minister, Feridun Sinirlioglu, spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, as well as key Nato partners, the statement said. Ankara summoned Russia’s ambassador to the country and “strongly protested” about the violation. Turkey urged that there be no repeat of the incident and it was made clear that Russia would be blamed for any further escalation.
Russia launched air strikes last week against forces opposed to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. Turkey also lodged a formal protest with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, and said it would consult with its Nato allies about the implications of the incident.
Russia began airstrikes in Syria last week in defence of its embattled dictator, Bashar al-Assad. The raids have primarily targeted opposition fighters battling to topple Assad while drawing closer to his stronghold of Latakia, as well as areas controlled by Islamist rebels and the al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s wing in Syria.
Turkey opposes the Russian intervention. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government has insisted on Assad’s departure as a prelude to resolving the crisis, and has backed a range of rebel groups fighting to overthrow him.