Ankara: Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has defended Turkey's shooting down of a Russian fighter jet at the border with Syria, saying Turkey has the right "to take all kinds of measures" against border violations according to international laws.
Davutoglu said Turkey will not hesitate to take all steps to protect the country's security, calling it Turkey's "national duty." He stressed that the action did not amount to an aggression against any foreign territory.
Davutoglu also called on the international community to work toward "extinguishing the fire that is burning in Syria."
Turkey said it shot down the Russian plane after it violated Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings.
A woman holds a poster as she pickets the Turkish Embassy in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. The poster reads: The pilots that were shot down, were fighting with terrorists, to save your and our civilians. (AP Photo)
Turkish demonstrators hold a banner reading "we are with the resistance against aggressors" as they protest against Russia's policies towards Syria, outside the Russian embassy in Ankara, on November 24, 2015. (AFP Photo)
Protesters outside Russian consulate in Turkey
Dozens of people have gathered outside the Russian Consulate in Istanbul to protest Russian operations in Turkmen regions of Syria.
The protesters gathered, shortly after Turkey shot down a Russian plane that it said violated Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings for it to leave. The plane was operating over the Turkmen Mountain region in Syria's Latakia province.
The protesters chanted, "Turkmen brothers are not alone" and "Killer Russia, get out of Syria."
Turkey summons UN Security Council members' envoys over Russian jet
Ankara: Turkey's foreign ministry summoned representatives from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to brief them on the downing of a Russian fighter jet, a Turkish official said.
Envoys from the U.S., Russia, China, France and Britain were called in after the warplane came down along Turkey's Syria border, sparking a furious response from Moscow. The Turkish military said the plane was repeatedly warned after violating Turkish airspace, something Russia denies.
(Reuters Photo)
Rebel spokesman says ‘We are searching for 2nd pilot’
A spokesman for the rebel group that captured a Russian pilot whose plane was shot down by Turkey says rebels are conducting search operations in the area to find the second crew member.
Jahed Ahmad of the 10th Brigade in the Coast, a group affiliated with the Free Syrian Army, said his group would consider exchanging the body of the Russian pilot they are holding with prisoners held by the Syrian government.
Ahmad said on Tuesday about the Russian pilot: "This is the body of a Russian member of the military who was killing Syrian people."
He added: "We have the body and we will see what to do with it." Rebel spokesman: We are searching for 2nd pilot.
(Reuters Photo)
Turkey's downing of jet a 'stab in the back’ Putin says
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Turkey's decision to down a Russian warplane near the Syria border a "stab in the back."
Speaking at a meeting with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Putin on Tuesday accepted his condolences on the death of a Russian pilot who was reportedly captured and dead.
Putin said the Russian Su-24 jet was shot by a missile from a Turkish jet over Syria about 1 kilometer (just over a half-mile) away from the Turkish border, which he described as a "stab in the back by the terrorists' accomplices."
Putin warned that the incident would have "significant consequences" for its relations with Turkey and criticized Ankara for turning to NATO to discuss the incident instead of first explaining to Russia what happened. shot by a missile from a Turkish jet over Syria about 1 kilometer (just over a half-mile) away from the Turkish border, which he described as a "stab in the back by the terrorists' accomplices."
Putin warned that the incident would have "significant consequences" for its relations with Turkey and criticized Ankara for turning to NATO to discuss the incident instead of first explaining to Russia what happened.
Video footage of the incident showed a warplane on fire before crashing on a hill and two crew members apparently parachuting safely.
Turkey's private Dogan news agency said two Russian helicopters, flying low over the Turkmen Bayirbucak region, searched for the two pilots.
A Turkish military statement said the plane entered Turkish airspace over the town of Yayladagi, in Hatay province.
"On Nov. 24, 2015 at around 09.20 a.m, a plane whose nationality is not known violated the Turkish airspace despite several warnings (10 times within five minutes) in the area of Yayladagi, Hatary," the military said before the plane's nationality was confirmed.
"Two F-16 planes on aerial patrol duty in the area intervened against the plane in question in accordance with the rules of engagement at 09.24 a.m."
It said the plane was warned 10 times within the space of 5 minutes.
On Friday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador demanding that Russia cease operations in Syria targeting Turkmen villages, saying the Russian actions did not "constitute a fight against terrorism" but the bombing of civilians. Ambassador Andrey Karlov was warned during the meeting that the Russian operations could lead to serious consequences, the ministry said.
Syrian troops have been on the offensive in the area that is controlled by several insurgent groups including al-Qaida's branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, and the 2nd Coastal Division that consists of local Turkmen fighters.
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the warplane crashed in the Turkmen Mountains region in the coastal province of Latakia.