Turkey threatens to ‘engage’ Russian fighter jets

Europe, Middle East, News October 5, 2015 , by IRIA 1 Comment

Turkey has threatened to “engage” Russian warplanes after the Turkish military allegedly intercepted a Russian fighter jet that had violated the country’s airspace while flying a sortie near the border with neighboring Syria over the weekend.

“Our rules of engagement are clear whoever violates our air space,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Haber-Turk television in an interview.

“The Turkish Armed Forces are clearly instructed. Even if it is a flying bird it will be intercepted,” he added.

Ankara asserts that any element approaching the Turkish border from Syria would be treated as an enemy

The comments came after the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Ankara Andrey Karlov over the incident.

The ministry, in a statement released on Monday, said a Russian warplane crossed into the Turkish airspace south of the Yayladagi district in the southern province of Hatay at 12:08 a.m. local time (0908 GMT) on October 3.

The statement added that Turkish officials had expressed strong protest at the violation during the meeting with Karlov, and demanded that Russia not violate the Turkish airspace again. They also warned that Russia would be “responsible for any undesired incident.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu also had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to complain about the incident.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg has warned Moscow about escalating tensions with the Western military alliance through “unacceptable” violations of Turkish airspace.

Secretary General of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg (© AFP)

“I just met with Foreign Minister of Turkey Feridun Sinirlioglu to discuss the recent military actions of the Russian Federation in and around Syria, including the unacceptable violations of Turkish airspace by Russian combat aircraft,” he said.

“I call on Russia to fully respect NATO airspace and avoid escalating tensions with the alliance,” Stoltenberg noted.

“I made clear that NATO remains strongly committed to Turkey’s security. Russia’s actions are not contributing to the security and stability of the region,” the NATO chief pointed out.