Turkey Says It Shot Down Russian Warplane Near Syria Border
Turkey Downs Russian Jet After Repeated Warnings
Russian Defense Ministry says Su-24 jet was in Syrian airspace
Russian jet was warned 10 times in five minuets
Turkey
said it shot down a Russian warplane near the border with northwestern
Syria after the pilots ignored repeated warnings that it was violating
Turkish airspace. Russia’s Defense Ministry denied that the
aircraft had ever left Syrian airspace, while acknowledging that one of
its jets had crashed in the country. The pilots are believed to have
ejected and a search for them is continuing, the ministry said Tuesday
on its website.
Aircraft goes down near Turkey’s border
Photographer: Fatih Akta/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
The
Russian warplane was shot down near the border and the two pilots were
captured by Turkmen forces in Syria, AHaber television reported. One of
them is dead, CNNTurk reported, citing unnamed local sources. Russian
and Syrian warplanes have been active in the area, reinforcing Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s troops against Turkmen fighters. Relations
between Turkey, a NATO member, and Russia, which started a campaign of
air strikes in Syria in support of Assad’s forces on Sept. 30, have
soured over the Russian intervention. Turkey, which backs rebels seeking
Assad’s ouster, has at least twice warned Russia about incursions into
Turkish airspace. This is a “very serious incident” and patience
is needed to establish the full picture, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. He declined further
comment, saying President Vladimir Putin may speak on the crash at talks
later Tuesday with Jordan’s King Abdullah.
Markets Fall
Two
Turkish F-16 jets “intervened” at 9:24 a.m. after the Russian jet
violated the country’s airspace, Turkey’s military said in a website
statement. Pilots warned the Russian plane 10 times in five minutes
before it was hit, according to the statement. The jet was at a height of 6,000 meters (19,700 feet) and may have been hit from the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The
lira reversed earlier gains after the reports of the crash and was
trading 0.8 percent weaker at 2.8728 per dollar at 12:27 p.m. in
Istanbul. Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul 100 index fell 1.3 percent and bonds declined after the incident.
Russia’s
Micex Index fell 1.9 percent to 1,832.47, the most in two months, after
rising 8.1 percent in six previous days. Government bonds dropped for a
second day, pushing five-year yields up 18 basis points to 10.06
percent, the biggest increase since August.
Airspace Violations
Turkish
military rules of engagement would apply to any plane that enters its
airspace without permission and Russia should act carefully, Turkish
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in early October, after Russia said
its jets mistakenly violated Turkish airspace at the time. Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to meet officials in Turkey
on Nov. 25. Davutoglu consulted with the country’s military chief
Hulusi Akar as well as Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu after the
warplane was shot down, the prime minister’s office said. Turkey would
raise the issue with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United
Nations and “related countries,” Davutoglu’s office said. NATO “is
monitoring the situation closely and we are in touch with the Turkish
authorities,” the military alliance said in a statement in Brussels. Video
footage broadcast by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency showed the jet
bursting into flames and descending rapidly before crashing behind a
mountain. Turkey has warned Russia against airstrikes that have targeted
ethnic Turkmen rebels in the area. Turkey shot down an unmanned
drone on the Syrian border in October. The military also downed a Syrian
MiG-23 warplane in March 2014 and a Syrian helicopter that entered
Turkish airspace in September 2013.
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