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CALL TO DE-ESCALATE TENSION

A still image from video footage by the HaberTurk TV
shows a burning trail as the plane comes down - EPA

Russian jet hit inside Syria after incursion: US

WASHINGTON, November 25, 2015

The US believes that the Russian jet shot down by Turkey on Tuesday was hit inside Syrian airspace after a brief incursion into Turkish airspace, a US official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said that assessment was based on detection of the heat signature of the jet.  

Earlier, US President Barack Obama and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone about the need to de-escalate tensions with Russia after Turkey shot down the Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border, the White House said.

Obama expressed "US and Nato support for Turkey's right to defend its sovereignty," the White House said in a statement.

"The leaders agreed on the importance of de-escalating the situation and pursuing arrangements to ensure that such incidents do not happen again," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Turkey told the UN Security Council it had shot down an unidentified plane that violated Turkish airspace and defended its right to do so as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Turkey and Russia to reduce tensions.

Russia has accused Turkey of shooting down one of its fighter jets nearly a mile inside Syria and Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of "serious consequences."

Ban hopes "a credible and thorough review will clarify the events and help prevent future recurrences," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"He urges all those who are engaged in military activities in Syria, especially air campaigns, to maximise operational measures to avoid unintended consequences," Dujarric said.

A US-led coalition has been bombing Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq for more than a year, while Russia began air strikes in Syria in September.

In a letter to the 15-member council and Ban, Turkish UN Ambassador Halit Cevik said two planes approached Turkish airspace on Tuesday morning and were warned 10 times in five minutes to change direction.

Cevik said both planes then flew more than a mile into Turkey for 17 seconds. He said the nationality of the planes was unknown.

"Following the violation, plane 1 left Turkish national airspace. Plane 2 was fired at while in Turkish national airspace by Turkish F-16s performing air combat patrolling in the area," Cevik wrote in the letter, seen by Reuters.

"Plane 2 crashed onto the Syria side of the Turkish-Syrian border," he said.

Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin sent the Security Council the text of remarks Putin made in Jordan on Tuesday when he described the incident as a stab in the back administered by "the accomplices of terrorists".

Britain's UN ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, president of the council for November, said no country had yet asked for a meeting but that he was ready to convene one if asked.

Cevik said Turkey had written to the Security Council on six previous occasions, dating to 2012, regarding violations of Turkey's sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.

He wrote that "Turkey will not hesitate to exercise its rights emanating from international law to protect the security of its citizens and borders in compliance with the established rules and regulations."  - Reuters




Tags: Syria | plane | Russian | incursion |

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