The United States has said that U.S.-led coalition strikes against IS in Syria are not impacted by the downing this morning of a Russian Su-24 jet by Turkey, Reuters reports.
"This is an incident between the Russian and the Turkish governments. It is not an issue that involves the [U.S.-led coalition operations]," U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military campaign against IS, told a Pentagon briefing, speaking via video-conference from Baghdad.
"Our combat operations against [IS] continue as planned and we are striking in both Iraq and Syria."
Rosturizm, Russia's Federal Agency for Tourism, "does not recommend that Russian tourists visit Turkey," the agency's chief has said, according to TASS.
The BBC's defense correspondent Jonathan Beale has more from U.S.-led Coalition spokesman in Baghdad Col. Steve Warren, who has confirmed that the Russian jet did not respond to warnings from Turkey.
The Pentagon also says that the status of the Russian pilots is currently unknown.
Warren has also commented on Russia's air strikes in Syria. He says Russia has exaggerated the impact of its strikes, most of which have not been against IS targets.
Turkey analyst Aaron Stein offers some comments on the downing of the Su-24 jet by Turkey this morning.
Russia's Ministry of Defense has lodged an official protest with the Turkish military attache in Moscow over the downing of the Su-24 jet this morning, the Ministry has announced via its social media.
The protest says that the Russian plane was targeting armed "terrorists" including North Caucasian militants.
The protest reads as follows:
This morning at 9.30 a Russian plane which was carrying out a combat mission as part of the war on terror, was shot down by a Turkish air force plane.
The Russian plane did not cross the Turkish border and operated entirely on targets in Syria.
The military actions of the Russian air force were conducted against illegal terrorist groups, including a large number of militants from the North Caucasus in Russia.
Attempts by specialists from the Russian Ministry of Defense to organize cooperation with the Turkish side via a hotline were unsuccessful.
We consider the actions of the Turkish air force as an unfriendly act.
At this time the Russian Ministry of Defense is developing a set of measures to respond to such incidents.
Military action against terrorists in Syria will continue.
The Kremlin has said it is not threatening Turkey with military consequences over the downing of the Russian Su-24 jet this morning -- but it is warning of "inevitable consequences," TASS reports, following comments by Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.
"Of course, I would not -- and the President, in fact, did not talk about any military implications," Peskov said.
"The President has not made such allegations, but at the same time, of course, he pointed out the inevitable consequences after such unfriendly acts by the Turkish side."
Turkey's Hurriyet news site reports that Turkey had warned Russia on November 19 against targeting Turkomans -- ethnic Turks -- in Syria and about conducting operations close to the Turkish border.
Turkey had summoned Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, and Russia's military attache to the Foreign Ministry on November 19 and were warned that Turkey would take "necessary measures" if its border security was threatened.
According to Hurriyet, the Turkish Foreign Ministry brought three points to Moscow's attention:
1-The operations of the Russian army were taking place in areas very close to Turkey’s border. This increased the possibility of a de facto situation which could threaten Turkey’s border security. It should be noted Turkey’s rules of engagement were in place and there will be no hesitation to implement them if such a violation occurs.
2-The area where Russian operations were being conducted was free of [IS] or other terrorist groups. There are Turkmens [Turkomans] living in this area. Civilians Turkmens were being harmed by Russia’s operations. It should be noted Turkey won’t be indifferent to attacks targeting the life security of Turkmen.
3-Military operations cause more civilians to leave their homes. A new refugee influx is at the door. Russia’s operations in that particular region could also hurt Turkey’s humanitarian efforts as well.
The NATO Secretary General is about to give a statement to the press following an emergency meeting.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is addressing the press following an emergency meeting in the wake of this morning's downing by Turkey of a Russian Su-24 jet in Syria.
Live streaming of the press conference is here.
Here are the main points from Stoltenberg's statement:
-- NATO just held an extraordinary meeting and were updated on the events by Turkey
-- Turkey informed allies about the downing of the aircraft
-- He said he had previously expressed concerns about Russian military actions near Turkey borders
-- "As I have repeatedly made clear we stand in solidarity with our NATO ally Turkey"
-- Will continue to follow developments very closely
-- "I call for calm and descalation, diplomacy and deescalation are important to solve this situation"
In response to a question about Russia's claims that the jet was shot down over Syria, and didn't violate Turkish airspace.
-- "Allied assessments we have got from several allies are consistent from information we have got from Turkey."
Stoltenberg said he welcomed more contacts between Moscow and Ankara.
-- "The common enemy should be IS"
-- "Most of attacks by Russia are targeting parts of Syria where IS is not present."
-- "There have been contacts between Ankara and Russia but so far not contact between NATO and Russia."
In answer to a question about how the plane was downed:
-- "I would be careful going too much into specifics but the assessments we got from allies are consistent with what Turkey briefed us about earlier today."
Obama: U.S., France 'United' Against Terror
U.S. President Barack Obama has said the United States and France "stand united" against terrorism, adding that the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and its ideology "pose a serious threat to all of us."
Speaking on November 24 at a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande in Washington, Obama also urged the EU to implement an agreement that would share airline passenger information.
Hollande said it was urgent to close the Turkey-Syria border and to prevent terrorists from traveling to Europe.
He added that he and Obama agreed to step up air strikes against IS targets in Syria and Iraq.
The Washington meeting comes after coordinated attacks in Paris on November 13 killed 130 people.
IS militants claimed responsibility for the assaults, which prompted the United States to issue a worldwide travel alert to its citizens.
Hollande has vowed to forge a united coalition capable of defeating IS militants at home and abroad.