Ankara to Ask Moscow to Explain Alleged Turkish Airspace Violation to NATO

Ankara will ask Moscow to explain an alleged violation of Turkish airspace by a Russian aircraft to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — The alleged incident involving a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber took place on Friday, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which also said the plane had been warned by Turkish air radar units. The Russian Defense Ministry labeled the allegations unfounded propaganda.

“Our instruction to the Foreign Ministry was to ask Russia to explain this violation to the NATO Secretary General,” Davutoglu told reporters, as quoted by the the Hurriyet newspaper on Monday.

He added that Turkey appreciates NATO’s “coming to the forefront” in this situation and stressed that any “violation of Turkish airspace is a violation of NATO’s airspace and will be addressed accordingly.”

On Saturday, Stoltenberg said that NATO stands in solidarity with Turkey and called on Russia “to ensure that such violations do not happen again.”

Relations between Russia and Turkey have been strained since a Turkish fighter shot down a Russian Su-24 jet carrying out anti-terrorist operations in Syria on November 24. Ankara and Washington claimed the Russian warplane was in Turkish airspace for a matter of seconds. Moscow said the Russian plane never crossed into Turkish territory.