West Backs Turkey Shoot Down of Russian Jet
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has called the downing of a Russian Su-24 Fencer bomber by Turkey a “reckless criminal act” that will worsen relations between Russia and NATO.
“The recklessness of the Turkish authorities’ criminal actions of downing the Russian airplane has led to three consequences. The first is the dangerous worsening relations between Russia and NATO that cannot be justified by any interests, including the protection of state borders,” the Russian PM declared.
The BBC reported that, following the event around the jet, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled his visit to Turkey which was planned on November 25th.
Lavrov reportedly advised Russians not to visit Turkey stating “the threat of terrorism [there] was no less than in Egypt, where a bomb attack brought down a Russian passenger plane last month.
CNN reported that US President Barack Obama said today at a press conference that Turkey had a tight to defend its airspace and continued that Russian air activity near the Turkey-Syria border had contributed to the crisis.
“This points to an ongoing problem with the Russian operations,” Obama stated, “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.”
According to Reuters, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg offered support for Ankara after Turkey shot down the Russian plane and rejected any suggestion that the incident happened outside of Turkey’s borders.
Stoltenberg continued that the “allied assessments that [we] have are consistent with the information we have from Turkey.”
The Tass news agency reported that he European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Frederica Mogherini, sought to ease tensions on Tuesdayafter the Turkish fighter jet downed the Russian bomber in Syria.
"Talked with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg this morning. Need to avoid escalation [between Turkey and Russia]," Mogherini tweeted.
Yesterday, Turkey’s F-16 fired an air-to-air missile at the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces’ Su-24M Fencer jet after the jet supposedly violated its airspace.