Turkey on Tuesday shot down a Russian fighter plane it said had crossed into its territory from Syria, killing at least one of the two pilots, and marking the first time in half a century that a NATO member has downed a Russian plane.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkey’s action a “stab in the back by the terrorists’ accomplices” and warned of “significant consequences,” while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov canceled a visit to Turkey which had been planned for Wednesday.
At Turkey’s request, NATO’s governing body opened an extraordinary meeting in Brussels.
Turkey said the Su-24 ignored several warnings that it was nearing, and then intruding into, Turkish airspace. Russia insisted the plane stayed over Syria, where it was supporting ground action by Syrian troops against Syrian rebels.
Rebel forces fired at the two parachuting pilots as they descended, and one died, said Jahed Ahmad, a spokesman for the 10th Coast Division rebel group. The fate of the second pilot was not immediately known.
Turkey and Russia have long been at odds over the crisis in Syria, where Turkey has been seeking the ouster of President Basher Assad, an important Russian ally.
Turkey has also voiced concerned over Russia’s bombing of Turkmen areas in Syria and the fact that the Russian operations have complicated the possibility of creating a safe zone in northern Syria to protect civilians as well as moderate rebels fighting Assad. The creation of a safe zone has been a long-term Turkish goal.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.