Turkey’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that a Russian fighter jet violated
Turkish airspace on Friday.
An
official statement released on Saturday said that the Russian craft -- a SU-34
fighter-bomber -- was repeatedly warned by Turkish air radar units in Russian
and English.
"A
Russian SU-34 fighter jet violated Turkish airspace yesterday (Jan. 29, 2016)
at 11.46 a.m. local time in Turkey [0946 GMT]," the statement read.
Speaking
to reporters at Istanbul Ataturk Airport before his departure for Chile,
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the violation of Turkish airspace, which he
also described as NATO airspace, was a result of Russian attempts to
escalate existing tension in the region.
"Russia
will have to bear the consequences if the violations continue," he said.
NATO
has confirmed the airspace violation: "I call on Russia to act responsibly
and to fully respect NATO airspace," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
said.
"Russia
must take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not happen
again," he added.
Erdogan
said the Turkish Foreign Ministry had made contact with Russia to arrange a meeting
with President Vladimir Putin to discuss the incident, but added that Ankara
had yet to receive a response.
In
late November, two Turkish F-16 fighter jets on an aerial patrol intercepted a
Russian military plane within the rules of engagement when it intruded into
Turkish airspace on the Turkey-Syria border.
The
intruding jet was warned about the violation 10 times within five minutes
before it was shot down.
After
the incident Russia imposed a range of unilateral economic sanctions against
Turkey including a ban on food imports.
Turkish
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a joint press conference with Jens
Stoltenberg on Nov. 30 that Turkey should not be asked to apologize for doing
its duty in protecting its borders and airspace.
Moscow
had demanded an apology for the shooting down of the SU-24 over southern Turkey.
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