U.S., France Obama Urge For Calm After Downing Of Russian Jet
The U.S. and French presidents have warned against any escalation over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane on the Turkish-Syrian border.
"Turkey, like every country, has the right to defend its territory and its airspace," Barack Obama said on November 24 at a joint news conference with Francois Hollande at the White House.
"It's very important right now for us to make sure that both the Russians and the Turks are talking to each other to find out exactly what happened and take measures to discourage any kind of escalation," Obama added.
"We must prevent an escalation,” Hollande said. “That would be extremely damaging."
Turkey says it shot down the Russian Su-24 jet on November 24 because it had violated Turkish airspace, but Moscow claims the plane never strayed from Syrian territory.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
NATO Chief Calls For Calm, Dialogue After Downing Of Russian Jet
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called for calm after the Turkish air force shot down a Russian fighter jet on the Syrian border.
"I look forward to further contacts between Ankara and Moscow and call for calm and de-escalation," Stoltenberg said on November 21 after an extraordinary meeting of NATO ambassadors in Brussels.
He also said the assessments provided by other NATO members were consistent with Turkish claims that the Russian fighter jet had violated Turkey's airspace.
"We stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally," he added.
Diplomats who attended the NATO meeting were quoted as saying that while none of the 28 NATO envoys defended Russia's actions, many expressed concern that Turkey did not escort the Russian plane out of its airspace.
Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters
Turkey's Erdogan Defends Right To Protect Borders
President Tayyip Erdogan has defended Turkey's right to protect its borders after the Turkish military shot down a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.
Turkey says it shot down the Russian Su-24 jet on November 24 because it violated Turkish airspace, but Moscow claims the plane never strayed from Syrian territory.
"Despite being warned 10 times in five minutes because it was coming toward our border, it insisted on continuing its violation,” Erdogan said on November 24 at the presidential palace in Ankara.
"The reason why worse incidents have not taken place in the past regarding Syria is the cool-headedness of Turkey,” he added. “Nobody should doubt that we made our best efforts to avoid this latest incident.”
The incident was at least the third time that Russian jets have allegedly entered Turkish airspace in recent months.
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
That concludes our live-blogging of Islamic State for Tuesday, November 24. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our continuing coverage.
From our news desk:
Russia's ambassador to France has said a Russian pilot missing in Syria after his plane was shot down by a Turkish jet on November 24 has been recovered and sent to a Russian military base in Syria.
Ambassador Aleksandr Orlov told Europe 1 radio on November 25 that the pilot managed to evade capture by rebels fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and was "picked up by the Syrian Army."
Orlov did not comment on the pilot's identity or health.
One Russian pilot was killed on November 24 after a Russian Su-24 warplane was shot down by a Turkish Air Force jet along the border with Syria. Ankara maintains the Russian jet violated Turkish airspace and ignored 10 warnings.
Moscow says the jet was in Syrian airspace and has accused Turkey of protecting terrorists by shooting down the jet.
The Su-24 was part of an ongoing Russian air campaign that Moscow says is targeting Islamic State militants. The United States and other countries say Moscow's air strikes are mostly targeting anti-Assad rebels and are aimed at propping up his government.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that his country does not want "escalation" after the downing of the Russian Su-24 jet in Syria yesterday, AFP have just reported.
Russia is to send its S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft weapon system to the Hmeymim airbase in Syria's Latakia province, government daily Rossiskaya Gazeta is reporting this morning.
The S-400 is Russia's latest generation anti-aircraft system and is an upgraded version of the S-300. It can operate using more than four types of surface-to-air missile.